Selfies
by Luxray In Fanfictionland
Summary: If pictures spoke a thousand words, the Magical Napping Society of Summer were novelists.
1. Chapter 1

Summer days were hot. Summer evenings were still hot. A girl could go mad in this kind of heat, Shinka Nibutani reflected. But then again, her circle of friends was mad enough already, and she had a willing and eager distraction in her lap that was beckoning the cooler night-hours very pleasantly indeed.

Nibutani sighed. Her phone, hitherto blissfully quiet, started to vibrate on the side table. Reluctantly, Shinka pulled away from the person she had been kissing. "Huffff... just a moment," she sighed. Flustered, she fumbled with a blind hand, rescuing her phone from the blank embrace of her furniture.

A text message. Hurray. Nibutani reluctantly flipped her phone open.

"It's from Togashi," she began, apologetically. "Wonder what banal thing he's asking me about now."

Sanae Dekomori, the Mjolnir Hammer and fellow makeout artist, began to pout; discomfitted by the loss of Nibutani's face against hers. "I have no deathly idea what the Dark Flame Master could be asking you for," she muttered.

Shinka looked from Sana to her phone, moving her fingers practisedly to open her phone, swiping past the passcode to show -

"Oh," Shinka muttered, her cheeks deepening further crimson from the light red they had been.

"What is it?" Sanae asked.

Nibutani tried to suppress her surprise. "Yuuta-... Rikka-" Shinka's attempts to suppress a smile failed, and a small one reached her face.

Sanae quickly aligned herself alongside Shinka, peering over her shoulder so she could look at the phone screen. Her jaw dropped.

"M-Master has finally bound herself to the contract of lovers with the Dark Flame Master..." Sanae said. "Finally..."

Shinka laughed. "Yeah, finally is right!"

The image on Shinka's phone showed Yuuta and Rikka in the midst of a substantial kiss. They were both still in their schoool uniforms, but the picture had clearly been taken in Togashi's bedroom. Nibutani clasped the phone shut.

"I can't believe that loser took so long to get on with things," Shinka said. "Even we managed to start kissing before they did."

Dekomori blushed. "My Master was clearly waiting for the right moment to engage!"

Shinka scowled. "Why did Yuuta send me a picture of it though..."

Sana looked up in thought. "Maybe he thought you wouldn't believe him? But how he convinced Master to pose for such a lewd photo... I have no idea..."

Nibutani smiled at her girlfriend. "I have an idea. A better one."

Dekomori looked quizzical. Nibutani leaned closer. "Maybe we ought to send them a picture back."

Sanae's mouth dropped open."E-Eh?" she stammered.

Shinka brushed her face up against Sanae's. "We definitely should," she whispered.

Sanae closed her eyes. Shinka pressed the attack. Her lips met Sanae's, Then her tongue met Sanae's, too.

*click*

* * *

Yuuta dozed in the relatively cooler night. Rikka's arm was in his face.

Bleary-eyed, he opened his eyelids at the noise of a lowly-vibrating phone.

"Ahhhh," he groaned to himself.

Yuuta glanced over at the alarm clock on his side table. The time glared balefully back at him. 01:34 am. The night might have been pitch black, but his sleep had been interrupted by the thrumming of his damn phone.

He levered himself out of the duvet cover as gently as possible, Rikka sleeping softly next to him, in the single bed against the wall. Yuuta groped tiredly towards his phone, biting back a yawn.

"1:00 am," he muttered, tiredly. "1:00 am, 1 message from Nibutani," he yawned. "This is because we sent her that message, probably." He rubbed his eyes as the fingers of his other hand worked to unlock the phone and open the message.

"Nice pic," the message began. "Took you long enough. Now beat this. X," it continued, the text above a picture of Nibutani and Dekomori in the throes of an embrace, back; both of them passionately kissing each other, open-mouthed, eyes closed, faces extremely red.

Yuuta could feel himself blushing at the sight. He closed his phone quietly.

"Hey, Rikka," he whispered.

* * *

Nibutani woke up to her own phone vibrating.

"Ehhh..." she groaned quietly, to nobody in particular. She blindly groped for her phone, Dekomori's vice grip around her waist not making things particularly easy in that regard. She fumbled her phone off the sideboard.

Her source of waking shone brightly on the flat screen.

"Jeez, why is Yuuta messaging me back at 2am," she muttered. "This is because we sent him that dumb picture."

Shinka made the same, tired motions to open her phone and read the message.

"Beat this? Okay," Nibutani mouthed, silently reading out the text. Then, she scrolled down.

And then bit down on her tongue.

"Ahh," Nibutani gasped, her thighs tightening involuntarily as she looked at the image.

The picture was remarkably lewd, and clearly taken from Rikka's perspective, which was also a surprise. The chuuni had taken the photo from her neck downwards, her body resting against something, or rather someone. Shinka didn't have to guess it was anyone but Togashi. Rikka's pyjamas were becoming quickly dishevelled as a hand reached under them; a hand up her shirt and (Shinka guessed) squeezing her breast, whilst the other hand was down under her pyjama waistband... Shinka didn't have to guess what was happening there, her thighs shifting gently against each other to the sight. These might have been her best friends, but this image was hot.

Shinka gently closed the phone. She glanced down at Dekomori, who was still soundly asleep. It was going to be difficult to get back to sleep, now... let alone tell Sanae of this in the morning...

* * *

Neither Rikka nor Yuuta were in the club room the following day. Come lunch time, Nibutani and Dekomori were completely alone. Even Kumin had disappeared off somewhere, eschewing the usual lunchtime nap in the corner. Yuuta and Rikka had both been in class, but had quickly disappeared at the end of the period, before Shinka could ask if they were ready to go to lunch.

The two girls in the clubroom sat opposite each other at the kotatsu, lunches open in front of them.

"I hope," Nibutani began, before lowering her voice to a whisper and leaning in, confidentially. "I hope those two aren't avoiding us because of that text."

"Master could be tracking any number of etheric energies during this period," Dekomori whispered back. "To say that she is not here because of..." her face blushed, "... that message... is a bit presumptive..."

Nibutani sighed. "Is it? You know what those two are like. It took them all this time just to kiss each other! This was probably a big step for them. Let alone the fact... well, they are our friends... its probably awkward..." Shinka tailed off.

Dekomori poked at her lunch, her face coming to a half-smile as she caught an idea. "It's a good thing that the mystic Mori Summer is well versed in the divine providence of Love," she said, completely seriously. "Besides..." Sanae's cheeks blushed, "that image was hot, right?"

Nibutani's face flushed too. It seemed almost perverse to be admitting it about an image of their friends, but then again, Rikka and Yuuta had presumably agreed to send it to her. "Right..."

Dekomori smiled. "Right! So we make them feel less bad by sending them something back!"

Nibutani was loath to admit, this almost made a certain kind of sense. "E-Eh?" was all she could articulate.

Sanae put down her lunch, almost leaping over the table to put her lips in Shinka's ear. "Something even hotter," she whispered.

* * *

Yuuta and Rikka were in the middle of the walkway outside the main school buildings, the Japanese summertime mercifully cooler today; just bearable to be outside, where the two of them chose to eat their lunch on one of the outside school benches.

Rikka's face was utterly passionless, concerned only with staring at her boxed lunch with the occasional panicked glance around every thirty to forty seconds.

Yuuta pushed his hand over the wooden bench top to touch Rikka's. She looked guiltily up at him.

"I know," Yuuta smiled back.

Rikka sighed. "It's just... really awkward..." she murmered, her free hand coming up to cover her face and eyepatch.

"Isn't it more awkward for us to be avoiding the others?"

"No..." Rikka replied. "I can't believe we sent them that image..."

Yuuta sighed. He halfheartedly put the lid back on his own lunch, and moved round to Rikka's side of the bench. His arm went around her waist. Rikka sighed and put her head on his shoulder.

"We both wanted to do it, right," Yuuta said, lowly. "What's embarrasing about it?"

Rikka screwed her eyes shut. "That we sent the evidence to Nibutani..."

"She did kind of ask us to," Yuuta said. "She was friendly this morning in class. I don't know why we're avoiding her and Dekomori." He sighed. "They've probably done more with each other before anyway..."

Rikka scowled. "Probably."

Yuuta's phone went off in his pocket. He unhugged Rikka in preparation to pull it out.

He opened the phone. "See, here's Nibutani now," he said. Yuuta unlocked the phone and opened the message.

"Where are you? Missing you at lunchtime!"

If attached pictures spoke a thousand words, Shinka Nibutani was a god-damn novelist.


	2. Chapter 2

**I have changed the rating on this story due to events in this and upcoming chapters; they will contain scenes of a more explicit nature. Fair warning!**

* * *

Yuuta's eyes flew open and his tongue felt like leather as he focused on the screen of his phone. He blinked. Was this…

Yes. Yes it was.

Rikka's unpatched eye widened in curiosity, seeing Yuuta's reaction; her contract partner's face was turning increasingly crimson. "What is it, Dark Flame Master?" Rikka said.

"Oh, you know. Just a picture of our friends Sanae and Shinka in the throes of some unashamed lesbian congress in the club room. No big deal."

At least, those were the words Yuuta might have said. He tried vainly to speak, but his mouth refused to form words. He was absolutely tongue-tied at what Sanae had sent him.

Worse, the sudden and novel thought - no, an evidenced act - of those two doing this in the clubroom had affected him in a very obvious way. Yuuta was very aware he was glad to be sitting down.

"The Bureau has paralysed my lover," Rikka hissed, dropping to all fours and inspecting under the bench they had been sitting on. "Reveal yourselves!"

This was enough to startle Yuuta back into the real world. He took a deep breath, eyes tracking Rikka as she began a fruitless search for the invisible agents. His brain tried quickly to figure out just how he was going to describe this to his girlfriend.

"Yuuta!" blurted Rikka, who was on her hands and knees inspecting the underside of the picnic table. Yuuta looked over at her, feeling like the blood would never leave his face. "What is it?" she asked.

"It - It's a message from your servant Dekomori," he began. And then, lowly: "It looks very... explicit."

Rikka jumped up from the floor, her wheeled shoes skating on the concrete. She tugged the bandage off her face, theatrically. "The Machinations of the Enemy are best exposed to the Tyrant's Eye. Come, Dark Flame Master, show me this offending item. It will last mere moments under the Wicked Lord's scrutiny."

"Keep your voice down," Yuuta said, doing the same. He motioned to Rikka with his head, his hands covering the screen."Come here if you want to look." He looked around again, the coast seemingly clear; it was the middle of lunch break and whilst there were a few students walking in the open area, none of them seemed to be paying the couple much mind.

Rikka nodded sagely. "Contract partner, if this is a covert mission, the Wicked Lord will expose this evil covertly." She rounded the bench and took the phone.

"I think there's more exposed than that, here," Yuuta muttered.

Rikka looked nervously at her boyfriend, then at the thumbnail. She gasped.

"M-My servant has got good choice in underwear…"

Yuuta looked utterly nonplussed. "Are we going to watch this or not?"

Rikka nodded her head, her thumb hovering above the play button. She screwed her eyes resolvedly, attempted to clear the doubts about this course of action, and hit the play button.

As it started, her blue hair twitched, blood crept into her face, and she felt a rush of blood to certain places. The footage had been recorded by her chuunibyou servant, Sanae Dekomori. But Rikka had never been sent a communication ever quite like this. In the video, the two other girls were locked in an extremely lewd pose. It left little to the imagination about what Dekomori was doing between Nibutani's exposed thighs, and the brown-haired girl visibly came at the end of the minute-long clip.

"Thank God it didn't have sound."

"I think it's muted, Yuuta." Rikka gestured to the crossed out speaker icon.

"For the love of all things don't unmute that," Yuuta hurriedly replied. Playing their friends' tryst noises in public seemed like a terrible, terrible idea.

"My servant has been corrupted by the schemes of the Enemy," Rikka managed.

"Shinka nor Dekomori are not our enemies," Yuuta said. "But this is... some escalation, or something. This makes me feel somewhat better about what we sent them yesterday, I guess? But there's no way in hell we can record something like this to send back to them." He blushed at the thought. Is that what Sanae and Shinka wanted?

Rikka was quick to agree. "No. Having such incriminating evidence available for the Wicked Lord's enemies would be deleterious to our cause." She pulled a new bandage for her right eye out of her blazer pocket. The elastic slipped around her ears with a twang.

Rikka wiped the phone's lock screen shut and tucked it silently into Yuuta's blazer pocket. She shook her head. Images of her servant, naked as the video, crept immediately back into her looked up at Yuuta. "M-My servant seems to have marked her form indelibly in my mind."

Yuuta shook his head. The video had had a similar effect on him. "Jeez, Rikka," he muttered. "What did we do to deserve such weird friends?"

He felt a warmth in his hand. Rikka had taken it in hers, clutching it quietly. He gave her hand a squeeze. "Are you OK?"

Rikka didn't respond. He looked at her, seeing a vacant stare; the sort of look that Yuuta had recently come to know as heralding Rikka's poorly articulated desires. Rikka's thighs had begun to rub gently against each other. Yuuta couldn't pretend the clip hadn't had the same effect on him. It was confusing to think about.

Shinka was extremely good-looking. All the boys of that class had rated her top in that dumb quiz from Isshiki. He had even taken that class representative role last year to get to know her, before things got pulled off track by all that happened after. Perhaps in another timeline, Yuuta might have got Shinka instead. Or more likely, he reflected, she would have laughed him down and he wouldn't be with anyone.

Yuuta loved Rikka, without question or hesitation; but having been sent these explicit clips by his friends, he didn't know whether to be pleased for them or jealous of them. A scenario entered his mind, where he had taken Dekomori's place in the video, and it was him that Shinka was climaxing for.

No. This was a problematic path to go down.

"We should probably go and talk to the other two about this," he suggested.

Rikka continued her silent stare into the middle-distance, her attention elsewhere.

"Thanks a lot, Shinka," he sighed. Rikka would need to be defused. His trousers felt awkwardly tight, also. Finding somewhere quiet the two of them could sort that would be a problem. And it had been made clear the club room was currently otherwise occupied.

Perhaps it was worth going to check?

"Let's go to the clubroom," Yuuta began, lamely.

Rikka's hair twitched. The blood in her cheeks hadn't left since the video. She looked into Yuuta's eyes; his face was reflected there with a mixture of nervousness and lust.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Let's go to the clubroom."

* * *

Shinka Nibutani tore apart a bread roll from the canteen.

She didn't hold a grudge against bread rolls, especially. This unfortunate had been on the cafeteria service today, though, and she was hungry. The lunch break had not left a large amount of time to eat, and she tore into the bread eagerly, her stomach rumbling for something more substantial to enter it.

Sanae Dekomori was looking out of the window, her arms wrapped up around her shoulder, fingers rubbing the cotton weave of her short sleeves absently. The shirt sleeves had picked up some considerable wrinkles from being tossed aside earlier.

Behind her, Shinka was devouring the bread like it was going out of fashion. She was famished.

Shinka looked over at Dekomori, the younger girl's eyes staring out of the window.

"Don't you want some of this bread?" Shinka said.

Dekomori shook her head. "No, I'm deathly satiated, thank you," she said, before casting her gaze back out of the clubroom.

Shinka finished the bread with a valiant chew. "What's up?"

Dekomori shivered. "Nothing." Shinka made a face. "Something, you mean."

Dekomori stood up abruptly, spinning on a heel to face Shinka, her legs spaced in a battle-pose. Her hands rested on her hips; her back arched; her face scowled.

Nibutani looked nonplussed. "So, definitely something."

Sanae scowled deeper. "I can't believe you sent that deathly video to those two..."

Nibutani flushed. "As I recall, it was your idea!" She punched Sanae in the arm, her fist bouncing lightly off the younger girl's sleeve.

Dekomori pouted. "Yes, but you agreed to it, Fake Summer."

Shinka was too antsy to rise to the challenge. She sighed, for about the tenth time. "Then we're both on the hook, aren't we? What a pair of idiots we are. What did we hope to achieve, there, exactly? It was fun before. I think we might have just gone too far."

Dekomori shook her head. "Master knows about our deathly urges. Why would my relation of that fact to her cause her to act differently now? I am still in a deathly pact with the Tyrant's Eye, just as I am in a different pact with the Fake-Summer. I am sure if my Master needs to talk about it, she will come to let me, her servant, know."

Shinka covered her face. "It's not Rikka's reaction I'm worried about." This, strictly speaking, was not true. Shinka was beginning to worry considerably that this dumb video idea might well have driven away its two recipients as friends. And that was beginning to feel crap.

Dekomori scowled. "Is your faith not sufficient, Fake Summer? Do you not embody the words of the Mabinogion, as you so claim? Don't you," Sanae blushed, "don't you embody L-Love? 'For what trial in the face of divine providence of Love can stand?' "

Nibutani swung on a dime, her eyes glinting with a fierce energy. Her hands swung to Sanae's shoulders, and the two went quickly to the ground, Dekomori pinned under Nibutani's hands. Nibutani's eyes flashed, as she looked into Dekomori's.

"Tell me I don't know Love now," she said, and pressed her lips against Dekomori's, fervently.

Dekomori let out a quiet whine, her lips pressing back against Shinka's. Soon, their tongues met, and the two girls were grinding against each other eagerly.

"Didn't you get enough of this deathly activity earlier," Sanae breathed between kisses.

Nibutani looked stern. "Idiot. You know I can't help myself when it's you."

Conversation ceased for some seconds thereafter, as hands slipped again up shirt backs.

"You know Yuuta and Rikka could turn up at any moment," Shinka whispered, her lips under Sanae's ear, her breath hot on Sanae's neck. Below skirts, Shinka's knee was grinding hard against Sanae's centre.

Sanae let out a low moan. "I don't care," she whimpered.

"Well I guess they wouldn't see anything new now," Shinka murmured, her lips on Sanae's shoulder.

* * *

Rikka and Yuuta walked together, their feet quickly covering the path to the clubroom. Neither was in particular mind to hang around. Yuuta had folded his blazer over his arm in an attempt to hide what was on his mind. Beside him, Rikka was holding his hand, her gait keeping her legs closer together than normal walking strictly required.

Yuuta looked up at a clock as they walked by one in the corridor. Lunchtime was, in fact, almost over. At least the clubroom was only a few paces away.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuuta's plan had been sound, but the club room was filled with its usual residents. As Rikka and Yuuta slid open the door, a very embarrassed couple scrambled up from the floor to meet them. Shinka quickly pulled her shirt down as nonchalantly as she could manage. To Rikka and Yuuta, this had all the subtlety of a house brick. Yuuta shook his head.

"You two can't be left alone, apparently. Do you do anything other than make out?"

Shinka looked indignant. "Not really any of your business, is it, Togashi?" Nibutani asked him.

"Jeez, forget I said anything."

Shinka paused. "That came out a bit harshly. Sorry," she mumbled, hanging her head.

"It's fine. Save the contrition for later. We need to talk about these... videos."

Nibutani froze. The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock. Next to her, Dekomori stifled an awkward cough. "Ah. Yeah, those," she said, touching the back of her neck.

Rikka was staring at the floor, not able to look at either of them. "Yuuta and I determined we should come to talk to you about it. We have certain... questions. And opinions. Things," she mumbled, "things we can't unsee..."

"We're deathly sorry, master. Those kinds of things should remain protected under ward," Dekomori said, her face crimson. Yuuta couldn't tell whether she was embarrassed, or just flushed from making out with Shinka mere moments ago. Even when they had come to straighten things out, these two invaded his mind like that. He shook his head, trying to clear away the unbidden memories. "To reveal such videos to you so early was an amateur mistake," she finished. She looked miserable. Rikka's current dejection was probably the source of that.

Nibutani's shoulders slumped at Rikka's demeanour, when the blue-haired girl failed at all to respond. "Sorry, alright? Things obviously got out of hand," she snapped. "We're all at fault. So just forget about it."

"This has been escalating for days, Shinka," Yuuta said. "And besides... for Rikka here... and for me, I guess... forgetting about seeing you and Dekomori isn't quite so, uhm, easy."

Shinka stared at him. "You mean you... _liked_ that stuff?"

Rikka was rubbing her thighs together unconsciously. "It looked pretty cool," she mumbled.

Shinka wanted to laugh. This was not the way she had expected this conversation to go.

"Jeez, Togashi, talk about being-" She caught herself. The end to that sentence would have been unfair, a knee-jerk reaction. She bit her tongue. The boy had basically just admitted to something she had half-suspected, anyway. That was going to be fun to work out.

"Being what, exactly, Nibutani?" Yuuta looked irritated. "You don't exactly get to claim any moral high ground here."

Shinka's face dropped. "No, I don't. What do you want me to say, Togashi?"

"I have absolutely no idea what any of us should say," he said.

Outside, the bell for the end of lunchtime rang. Rikka looked up at him, frustration on her face.

"Yeah, I know. Great timing," he said. It was going to prove a long afternoon.

"Look, we need to talk about this properly..." he said, hurriedly, as Shinka and Sanae began to pack their things ready for the next class.

Dekomori nodded. "You and Master should return after the afternoon classes."

Rikka was still staring at the floor, but nodded. "Until then, then." Without a further word she turned around, walking straight into the door. "Oww," she whined. Yuuta wanted to laugh. That summed it up, really. He put his hand on Rikka's shoulder, encouragingly. "Come on you. Eyes on people, not the floor," he said, sliding the door open. Rikka walked through it, disregarding his instruction. Yuuta sighed, then followed her without looking back.

As he vanished from sight, Shinka let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding.

"OK..." she said.

Sanae looked up at her, her lip trembling. "Those videos seem to have been a critical hit," she said, softly.

"No kidding," Shinka replied. "You do know what they basically just admitted, right?"

"Yes," Sanae said, trembling. "However, my master and I have always had a close bond. That she would admire us to the point of furthering it..."

If Shinka had been drinking anything, it would have been sprayed over the back wall.

"Furthering it? Did we listen to two different conversations?"

"No," Dekomori said, entirely serious. "But, blessed as I am with the perception of the alternate realms, I picked up their meaning entirely."

Shinka mused on that. She had watched Togashi's and Takanashi's videos with the pride of a helpful parent, mostly. Evidence that they weren't completely made of cardboard, that they had actual relations with each other. That had made her feel good. But now, thinking about the idea of... furthering things... with the two of them... Togashi had a cute face, after all. And Rikka's legs -

"Oh shit," she said. She was in trouble.

"Do you think they'd say yes if we asked?"

Shinka did a second spit-take. "I know you probably want to feel the touch of your master but are you sure you want to do it with _Togashi_?"

"The Dark Flame Master has many powers, Fake Summer. If my master chooses to embrace him under the purview of the limitless barrier, I see no reason why her judgment is incorrect. Besides, I will not be the one approaching him first. As the self-proclaimed preacher of Love... you will."

Shinka felt like the floor had dropped away. "Honestly, if that idiot was a little less cute, I'd be a lot less happy with this proposal."

"Leave it to me," Sanae said. "I will invoke the arcane to bless our meeting later."

Shinka sighed, nodding. "Fine." She glanced at the clock. "We are so late." She hastily grabbed her things, kissing Sanae quickly on the forehead before running out of the clubroom. "See you after class!"

* * *

The bell for the end of classes rang. The hands on the clock at the top of the class pointed blackly at the 3. 3:15pm. Yuuta wearily packed his books into his bag. Truth be told, he had paid little attention to the afternoon's lessons. His mind had been turning itself over and over on the upcoming confrontation in the club room.

He looked over to the side; Rikka had unceremoniously dumped all of her personal effects into her bag with a highly effective sideways swipe. Yuuta swore he could have heard several pencils breaking. He sighed.

"Are you ready to go to the clubroom?" he asked.

At his words, Rikka stared dejectedly at the desk. "Maybe?"

"That singularly failed to convince me," he said.

Rikka's gaze could drill holes into the desk's veneer. "I suppose I am. I'm just worried about saying the wrong thing when we're there."

Yuuta could sympathise. This whole situation was messed up. He glanced around the classroom. Apart from the two of them, it was now empty.

"Let's go over and do our best," he said. "Putting it off isn't going to help us any."

Rikka didn't say anything. He kicked his heels, thinking of what to say. "I'm here for you," he settled on, and kissed Rikka on the cheek. She looked up from her focus on the woodgrain and looked at him. A faint smile came onto her face, and she reached out, grasping his hand in hers.

"Whatever happens," he said, "I'm glad to be with you, alright?"

"I'm glad to be yours, Yuuta," Rikka said, solemnly. "I'm just worried about losing our friends."

Yuuta sighed. "Yeah, me too. But as an accomplished wielder of your powers, you must realise that time travel is impossible. At least, going backwards in time is. I don't know all that theory behind it."

Rikka nodded, humming. "Right. Things have moved forwards between us. We just need to find out what they want to do about it."

"Yeah. Well, they're probably waiting for us there," Yuuta said. "Are you ready?"

"I think so. Lead the way, contract partner."

As they walked, the school corridors were emptying rapidly, students keen to get out and go home after the day of studying in the hot classroom. By the time the two of them made their way to the other side of the school, there was nobody about. The afternoon air was hot, stifling. Yuuta could feel himself sweating under the collar of his shirt. He pulled the buttonhole of his collar between his fingers, wishing some air would get in.

The two of them reached the clubroom door, standing outside and staring at the panels. Yuuta put his hand on Rikka's shoulder. She looked up at him and nodded. He took a deep breath, and slid open the clubroom door. Inside, Nibutani and Dekomori were sat, working on some kind of homework by the look of it. Rikka announced them. "Hey."

Shinka looked up at them, put her pencil down and closed the book. "Hey," she said quietly. At her side, Dekomori gave them a small, hesitant wave.

Yuuta and Rikka closed the door, and sat down opposite them at the kotatsu. There was a certain irony about a heated table being the centrepiece of the clubroom in the middle of summer, but it wasn't really the strangest thing about their club. Definitely not so today.

Nobody said anything.

The four of them were used to silence in the clubroom. It heralded lazy lunchtimes, working on class assignments, enjoying each other's company, when there wasn't an overblown imaginary fight going on. Now, at the end of the day, it was the harbinger of discord, of arguments unresolved, of covert emotions unspoken. In a few words, it was damned awkward. Seconds passed. After a minute or so, Yuuta sighed, pointedly. "This clubroom used to be a lot less awkward,"

Shinka looked dismissive. "Yeah, then we all grew up, Togashi. With the stuff that comes with it."

"None of us here are exactly adults, Shinka."

"Some of us more than others."

"If I'm being honest, Shinka, sending us a video where you and your girlfriend are having sex is probably the wrong kind of adult."

Shinka's eyes narrowed. "I didn't exactly hear you saying it was a bad thing at lunchtime."

Rikka rubbed the back of her neck with unsteady fingers. "No. That's the current problem."

Yuuta ran his hand through his hair, frustrated, immediately regretting the sweat that collected on his palm. "I guess the most important question is… Where does this leave the four of us, exactly?"

The clubroom returned to silence. It was a question that summed up the last few days; things had progressed beyond any semblance of normality. Shinka shook her head in resignation. Despite this whole situation being partly her fault for instigating it in the first place, she didn't feel any guilt. Was that a failing? Shinka didn't know, and reflecting on it, didn't really care. Like the other three people in the room, the only thing on her mind was the content of the week's videos, that had been passed back and forth.

Eventually, she spoke. "Where do you want us to be?"

"I want us to be friends."

"We are friends, Togashi."

"We _were._ Friends don't send those kinds of videos to each other."

"No," Shinka admitted, finally. "I guess they don't." She looked down to where her arms were folded over her midriff. It was intended as a frustrated gesture; Sanae had taken one of Shinka's protruding hands in hers for reassurance. Both of their palms felt sweaty. Shinka gave the reassuring hand a squeeze; the blonde girl looked at her and smiled nervously. Shinka looked into her girlfriend's eyes. There was agreement there, of a sort. Shinka knew what Sanae wanted. She was beginning to suspect she wanted much the same; she just hated to admit it.

Rikka sat silently on the other side of the kotatsu; her hair twitching, gaze fixed on the table, as if looking at any of the others would betray her emotions. Shinka felt for her. It was bad enough processing these things as an ex-chuuni, let alone a current one.

"What is it, Rikka?" Shinka asked. The girl was visibly fidgeting with the butterfly ring on her finger.

"I think we all know what we want," she said, quietly, eyes never leaving the table. "Just none of us want to be the first to say it."

Silence reigned, again. Dekomori stood up, sudden, focusing everyone's attention.

"Why do we need to say anything, then?" she said, standing up. "The wielder of the Tyrant's Eye I know shouldn't just sit back when she wants something. Where is your urge to enter deathly battle for the things you want, Master? And you, Togashi" Dekomori continued, rounding a pointed finger at Yuuta, adjacent. "The Dark Flame Master and the Wicked Lord are in the contract of lovers! The two of you should be fighting together for what you want."

"This isn't some chuunibyou thing, Dekomori," Yuuta said. "This is serious!"

Sanae put her hands on her hips. "Don't imagine I'm not being serious for a second," she protested loudly, moving towards him. Yuuta fell back on a hand. Sanae gave him a wink, walking past him to stand in front of where Rikka was sat. She dropped to her haunches in front of her, breaking Rikka's deadlocked staring contest with the kotatsu surface. "Hi."

Rikka looked up, surprised. She was trying to put a brave face on, but was failing to hide her nervousness. Rikka's lip trembled. Sanae, ever cavalier, gave Rikka her most devious smile. "Stop being childish already, Master," she said, and kissed Rikka on the lips.

Rikka immediately turned pink, but didn't resist. After a brief contact, Sanae pulled back.

"Wait," was the only word Rikka said. She reached up to her face, where the bandage was covering her yellow contact lens. Wordlessly, she pulled it off, the only sound being the elastic snapping quietly from behind her ears. She placed it on the table.

"Now you can proceed," Rikka said, and pulled Sanae gently back into their kiss. Sanae guided Rikka to the floor, her mouth pressing into Rikka's, Rikka's hands wrapped around her back, Rikka pressed into the floor under her weight.

Yuuta looked over at Shinka, his brain struggling to catch up. Words had fled as the blood had vacated his brain, rushing down to a more salient part of him. Shinka raised an eyebrow.

"Your girlfriend is making out with mine and you're surprised? You are such a fucking dork. This was the inevitable outcome."

"This is okay, isn't it Yuuta," Rikka breathed between kisses.

"Yeah, yeah it is." Yuuta smiled. Dekomori was right; actions trumped words. The twintail had solved things in her inimitable style. He moved over to where Shinka was sitting at the other side of the kotatsu. He sat down and looked at Nibutani.

Shinka rolled her eyes. "I should probably mention - Sanae just goes for it," she said. "That girl has no restraint. She probably wouldn't know what the word meant."

Sanae, going for it, had her hands lifting Rikka's blouse, her mouth kissing over her navel.

Seeing Rikka being turned on by Sanae like this... well, it was hot.

"I guess that means it's our turn," Yuuta offered, evenly.

"Our _turn_?" Shinka looked amused. "Do you _like_ me, Togashi?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

Her eyes screwed up in mock disgust, but the smile never left her face. "Gross!" she said, feigning outrage. "But. I guess that makes two of us."

"I always liked you, a bit," Yuuta said.

"That was obvious back when you took that student rep position just to talk to me," Shinka said, shaking her head. "You are so transparent. But you're also possibly my best friend. And annoyingly cute, as well. So… I guess you'll do."

Rikka had Sanae's hands under her skirt now, the blonde girl moving her fingers over her panties, rubbing Rikka gently through them. Rikka was moaning quietly. Shinka cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Rikka... Do you mind if I kiss your boyfriend now?" she asked.

Rikka shook her head quickly, giving her blessing. Sanae's hands moving over her had stolen her capacity to speak. Sanae muttered from between kisses on Rikka's thighs.

"We're past the point of asking that, my love."

Seeing Rikka's approval, Shinka turned back to Yuuta. "Transparent _and_ slow, Togashi." She punched him in the arm, playfully. "Must try harder."

"Shut up," he complained, somewhat lamely. Shinka leaned in closer, coy. "Make me."

Their lips met. Yuuta wasn't sure who had moved in first. Did it matter? Adrenaline rushed through his chest as he felt Shinka's warm lips on his. Her lip gloss tasted like strawberry; he was close enough to smell the shampoo and sweat in her hair. It was intoxicating. The rest of him was numb, his attention solely on her. Then, it was over; they broke apart.

Shinka smiled at him and looked away, embarrassed. It could almost have been an awkward silence if not for Rikka, who was trying desperately beside them to contain her own sounds, mouth clamping down on fingers in a vain attempt to conceal the noise. The blue-haired girl's skirt had been pushed up and her black panties were down by her ankles, hanging from Rikka's left leg. Sanae, caring little about their situation or the concept of patience, moved firmly between Rikka's elevated thighs with her mouth, using her hands to stroke Rikka's stomach and hips as she licked Rikka's core. Rikka was taking this treatment with her usual stoicism - which was none. Rikka's gasps and small cries of pleasure filled the late afternoon room.

Yuuta looked over at Rikka. Her face was screwed up in pleasure, eyelids fluttering. As she caught him looking, she gave him a shy smile. He suspected she had liked watching him kiss Nibutani. He tilted his head a fraction to the side, a subtle question. Rikka nodded. Yuuta smiled too, embarrassed. It was obvious he had enjoyed kissing her as well.

"We're stopping there?" Shinka pouted, tugging at his hand.

"The worst thing about whatever... this... is, is getting distracted by the others," Yuuta said, his attention on Rikka and Sanae. Rikka's head was craned back, a hand pushing Sanae's mouth into her.

Shinka blinked. "I hesitate to term it an orgy, but that might just be exactly what it is."

"I was just thinking, I always wondered what that would be like."

"An orgy?" Shinka looked confused.

"Kissing you," Yuuta said.

Shinka leaned in again. "Ah, a real romantic. Well, what's stopping you?"

Their lips met again. This time, neither held back. Shinka pushed her tongue around his. In reply, Yuuta pushed his hands up the back of Shinka's shirt along her back. Shinka hummed in pleasure. Rikka was watching them intently, and the sight of the two coming together more passionately was enough to push her over the edge.

She felt her climax coming immediately. "Oh my God, Deko, I'm coming."

Sanae, feeling Rikka starting to move, pushed her tongue harder against Rikka's sensitive part, and slipped a finger into her so she would have something to come around. Rikka let out an indecent mewl as she shuddered with the climax. She threw her head back, hips and back arching. Sanae kept moving her tongue and fingers whilst the pleasure hit her friend, until Rikka's hips fell still again, and Sanae was sure it was over.

Rikka panted, her breath short. She couldn't remember experiencing such a strong orgasm.

"My servant... Sanae. Wow..."

Sanae slowly pulled her finger out of Rikka and sat up, crawling over towards Rikka's face. Rikka looked up at her, opening her mouth to say something more, but couldn't think of anything. She settled for wordless gratitude instead, hand shooting up to tug Sanae in for a gentle kiss. The girl tasted like she did. Rikka supposed that was to be expected.

After a few seconds, Sanae pulled back and half-smirked, half-smiled. She winked at Rikka. "Satisfied, Master?"

Rikka's face and chest were completely pink; she had no spare capacity left to blush. The four of them were long past that point, anyway. Rikka nodded hastily. "W-Where did you learn that..."

Hearing this, Shinka smiled. "She's had somewhat of a headstart in learning that kind of thing." As Nibutani spoke, Yuuta took the opportunity to start kissing down her exposed neck. Shinka, her hands free, clutched at his waist, pulling his shirt out to get her hands around him.

Sanae at this point had sat up, upright by Rikka's still-prone shoulders, watching their partners with each other as Rikka was, fascinated. Rikka pushed herself up unsteadily, crawling behind the blonde girl. She leant into Sanae's back, her chin falling on Sanae's shoulder, her mouth planting a kiss on Sanae's cheek.

"This way we can both watch," Rikka offered, and ran her hands around Sanae's waist, tunnelling under the fabric of Dekomori's blouse and touching the bare skin underneath. The younger girl shivered. Between watching the others and giving herself to Rikka's pleasure, Sanae herself ached for release.

"Master, please... I need it - I need you..."

Rikka smiled and kissed the back Sanae's neck, as her hands trailed up and down Sanae's waist. The caress of Rikka's fingertips made the blonde girl dizzy.

"After how good you made me feel," Rikka said between kisses, her mouth moving down the nape of Sanae's neck, "I hope I can do it half as well... I don't know how this... I mean-"

"The Wicked Lord will guide you, if you need it, master," Sanae shivering as she delivered this chuunibyou wisdom. "And I'll tell you, too, if it doesn't feel good..."

Encouraged, Rikka moved her dominant hand towards Sanae's hips, her fingers met by the elasticated skirt waist. Sanae moved her own hands hurriedly, undoing the front clips of her skirt, loosening the obstacle.

"Thank you," Rikka murmured into Sanae's ear.

Rikka slid her hand down over Sanae's hip, her fingers disappearing under the loose waist of the skirt, teasing the waistband of her servant's underwear. The white bandage wrapped around Rikka's left arm rubbed against Sanae's bare stomach; in her stimulated state, it felt like sandpaper.

"What colour panties are you wearing today," Rikka asked, lowly.

"W-White," Dekomori said.

"Excellent choice. These will work well for the ritual of consummation," Rikka replied. Her fingers slipped under the waistband, flat against Sanae's hip. They moved along it, slowly, enticingly. Sanae began to squirm. Rikka kissed her neck again as her fingers finally found their target, her middle finger gently meeting Sanae's core at the pelvic bone.

Sanae let out a quiet whine, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of them. As Rikka rubbed Sanae slowly beneath her skirt, the reactive motions of Sanae's hips pressed right against her own.

"I'm glad we ended up like this," Rikka said, quietly.

Sanae nodded. "Me too."

Meanwhile, their partners had not held back in providing something for the other two to look at. Yuuta had managed to get Shinka's bra off; it now lay without ceremony by the leg of the kotatsu, unnecessary going forwards. Shinka's chest shone similarly pink beneath the unbuttoned neck of her school blouse, the three or four loosened buttons creating a window to her arousal. Yuuta's hands, now slipped up under the garment, worked at her breasts and waist. Shinka had one hand up over Yuuta's shoulder into the boy's hair, and her other hand worked at him where he stood below the waist. The two were still kissing.

Sanae bit her lip, her face painful with the heat in her body. "Master," she breathed.

Rikka's eyes were similarly glued. "I hope you can handle multiple goes," Dekomori whispered.

Rikka nodded, fevered. "Definitely." Sanae put her hand over where Rikka's was working at her, urging her touch closer. "Ah, master, that's it," she whimpered. "Just there."

Shinka pulled away from Yuuta, her eyes wide, her cheekbones feeling like they might run straight off of her face. "Why did it take you and Rikka all that time to kiss when you're this good at it?" she complained. "We could have been doing this months ago..."

She was facing him now, her hands fumbling with his belt and fastenings. After a few seconds, the buckle came open, Shinka's hand reaching inside his trousers to grasp his erection. Yuuta stiffened, her hand sizing him up, her touch feeling good. Shinka's eyes widened at how hard he was in her hand.

"I don't really know where to go from here," she admitted.

"There's no rush," Yuuta replied. "I mean, this feels good. Let me do it for you, too." He moved his own hand up along her inner thigh, marvelling briefly at how soft her skin there was, fingers trailing up from the hem of Shinka's calf-high socks to where his hand found the target of her own underwear. His fingertips rubbed gently around the outside. Shinka's cheeks turned even pinker, if it were possible, as she felt his touch.

"Enough teasing, Togashi," she whined, her hand firmly on his own sex, her hand moving up and down gently, movements becoming more sure as she saw and felt him react favourably. Faces centimetres apart, she looked into his eyes. Hers were bright, fierce, honest. "You can touch me for real, you know."

Yuuta leaned back in to kiss Shinka again, and moved his hand up and under Shinka's panties. As his fingers met her there, she let out a gasp. Yuuta rubbed gently along her folds, his finger gently slipping into her, the upper part of his palm rubbing against her core.

Shinka's forehead hit his shoulder as her composure slumped, breath hitching at the feeling. She clutched at the back of his neck with her free hand, fingertips soft against his skin. "Ah," she panted, "that feels good."

"Let me know when you're ready to go further," he said, his fingers not stopping. "It... you feel like you might be," he muttered, his fingers slick.

Shinka looked away. "I think so. It's just..."

"Is this your first time with, you know -"

"Yes," Shinka said, and then quietly, in his ear, "let's not make a big deal of it."

"I'm ready, then," Yuuta said. "But since this is your first time being, uhm... penetrated. It might hurt."

Shinka coughed and looked away. "Ahem. That may not be... as much of an issue, as you imagine, Togashi." Yuuta looked bemused. "Sanae and I have already... taken care of that, so to speak."

Realisation hit Yuuta like a truck. "Ah," he said, awkward.

"Yeah. So if we could focus on the romantic rather than the practical, again..."

"Say no more," Yuuta said, and went back to kissing her neck, whilst moving his fingers inside her. Shinka returned the favour, and moved her hand up and down, gently but firmly caressing him.

"Alright, I think I'm ready now," she said.

"How do you want to be positioned?"

"On the floor," Shinka breathed. Slowly, she leant backwards, leading Yuuta down with her, hands never leaving him. Shortly she was pinned under him, the weight and heat of their touching bodies fuelling their arousal. Yuuta fumbled blindly as his tongue continued to explore Shinka's, trying to work her skirt off without breaking away.

"Leave it on," Shinka urged, "just in case someone comes by..."

"Okay," Yuuta replied, and moved his hands underneath to steal away her underwear instead. She pushed his hips up for him, and in a moment, her pink panties were pulled down her legs and put aside. Shinka's hands were on his hips now, urging, yearning, Yuuta trying to line himself up with Shinka's entrance, fumbling gently to find the point where they would be joined.

"Ah," Shinka panted, "that's it," before pulling him inside her, the warmth of her insides immediately surrounding him, to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. Both of them let out their held breath, their pleasure apparent.

"Does it hurt?" Yuuta asked, cautiously.

"No," Shinka smiled, "so don't hold back, please."

"I don't think I could," he replied, and began to move himself within her.

As awkward as their feelings had been in the previous days, now that they had surrendered to them, their union felt perfect. The feelings and adrenaline that came of being with a new partner made the whole thing heightened. Yuuta tried consciously to take in as much of Shinka with his senses as he could, cementing this memory in his mind.

"This is so hot," Sanae moaned, Rikka's fingers eliciting all kinds of cute sounds from the girl as they watched their partners together. Rikka's breaths were hot in Sanae's ear, the girl behind her eagerly grinding her hips into Dekomori's as she tried to find her own satisfaction. Sanae reached behind her with the hand that wasn't urging Rikka into her, flailing against Rikka's side. "Here, master, let me touch you too, I can feel you need it." Rikka gratefully guided Sanae to where she wanted, the two girls now intimately rubbing each other's centre with increasing pace. "Ahhh, yes, Sanae, yes," Rikka moaned, bucking against Sanae's fingers, the space between her thighs becoming increasingly wet as she approached a second climax. "

Shinka pulled Yuuta tight into her, her hands around his back as he moved his hips, pushing himself back and forth inside her. Her lips ran over his neck and into his collarbone as he thrust inside her. The two of them were so hot, their kisses felt almost cool. Shinka moaned into his skin, the feeling and friction below sending her wild. It felt amazing for him too, Shinka surrounding him so completely and so pleasurably he knew he wouldn't last much longer inside her. The chorus of moans and whimpers coming from the two girls behind him spurred on their feeling.

"I'm pretty close already, Shinka," Yuuta said in her ear.

"Hah, me too," she replied. "When you come, you kiss me, alright?"

"Okay?" Yuuta breathed.

"It..." Shinka paused, her breathing heavy. "It just makes it feel extra good, okay?"

"Alright," he said, "come with me if you can."

"I will, ah, I'm really close too," she said, her hand in his hair. Shinka suspected she would so much as have to touch herself and she would orgasm immediately. As he began to move faster within her, Shinka used her pelvic muscles to squeeze him down below, encouraging his orgasm.

"Just make sure you come inside me," she moaned.

"I don't need encouragement for that," he said, his voice muffled against her neck.

"Then shut up and come for me already, Togashi."

Shinka's exhortation seemed to spur him into action, and Yuuta's hips moved more erratically as he got close to his limit. He pulled his head up from where he had been kissing her neck and looked Shinka deep in the eyes, before putting his lips on hers in her requested kiss.

Shinka pulled his head into hers as their tongues intertwined, and the boy gave a shudder as his orgasm hit him, bottoming out inside Shinka and letting everything go. As he came, strongly, and the heat of his ejaculation hit her insides, Shinka came too, her cries of pleasure muffled by their kiss, her hips shaking violently as she desperately coaxed everything from him. Her back tried to arch as her hips moved in delight, Yuuta pinning her down under him whilst he held himself within her, as they came together for the first time.

Shinka's mind went blank; all she could feel was him.

When their orgasms were over, and their bodies slowed and stilled, they broke their kiss.

"Are you alright?" Yuuta asked hurriedly. There were tears in Shinka's eyes.

She blinked furiously to try to clear them. "Idiot. I'm fine. Just, happy, I guess. That... that felt better than I imagined."

"Yeah," Yuuta panted, "it sounds like the others enjoyed it, too."

"Don't pull out yet," Shinka said, "It's nice... feeling you still in me. Plus, we need some tissues or something, I guess. I'm expecting it'll be a mess and as much as I like you, Yuuta, I don't really want to wear your mess on my skirt home for the public to see..."

"'Yuuta'?"

Shinka smiled weakly. "I don't think we're getting any closer than we are now, Togashi. Don't worry, I'm not going to get into cutesy names with you. That's dumb."

"Alright. Your hair is a mess, by the way."

Shinka's hair, normally straightened, clipped and hairtied, had all her fastenings still in place, but they had done her little good. She put an exploratory hand up and found a tousled mess. "Ugh. This is what lying around on the floor gets you, I guess."

"If that was lying on the floor I want to see what actual sex involves," Yuuta said.

"Hah," Shinka said. She pulled him close in a hug. "Before we find that out, I want to watch you do it with Rikka," she whispered in his ear. "And with Sanae. As amazing as that was... I think I want to watch sometimes, too."

Yuuta groaned. "You will all be the death of me."

Shinka smiled, though he couldn't see it. "Just Sanae," she said.

Sanae, meanwhile, was leaning back against Rikka, cheeks flushed, Rikka having brought her to a third climax at the denouement of their partners'. The two girls had been watching them the whole time, their hands on each other as the sight spurred them to seek their own climax. Once her breath had recovered, and seeing that everyone's coital glow was wearing off, Dekomori crawled over to where Shinka was lying with Yuuta on the floor, spent.

"How was your encounter with Togashi, my love," she asked.

"Memorable," Shinka replied. Sanae leaned in and kissed her. "I am deathly glad to hear it. Do you want help cleaning up?"

"That would be good," Shinka admitted. She slapped Yuuta on the shoulder. "Come on, loverboy. Time for us to act like adults again." She kissed him on the cheek. "Go make sure Rikka's okay," she urged. Yuuta nodded, pulling out of her slowly. "If you can throw my underwear back this way, that'd be great, too."

Yuuta put Shinka's underwear next to her, then fastened up his own trousers as best he could. He moved over to where Rikka was sitting. Her face was red and her hair looked sweaty, but her expression was happy.

"Hey," Yuuta said. She looked at him and put her arms around his chest.

"I love you, Yuuta," she said into his shirt.

"I love you too," he replied. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," she said. "Deko took good care of me. How was your tryst with Mori Summer? You two looked very… cool."

Yuuta kissed her chastely on the forehead. "Good. It was good."

Shinka scowled from where Sanae was doing the hooks of her bra back up. "Don't call me that, Rikka… you know I hate that name."

Rikka smiled. "Why. Is it too embarrassing for you? Need I remind you, we all just took part in various energy rituals in front of each other."

Shinka sighed. "I've got your boyfriend dripping out of me. Embarrassment doesn't cover it." She pulled the hair ties out of her hair, combing it loosely with her fingers, attempting in vain to smooth it out, before refastening it. "Ugh, that'll do for now. Pass me my underwear, Sanae." Sanae passed her the underwear.

"I like you all, but if you can turn away whilst I put these on, I'd appreciate it." Shinka stood up unsteadily and stepped awkwardly back into her underwear.

"Thanks," she said to the host of averted eyes.

Rikka was looking up at the clubroom clock. "The Infernal Machinations of the Horological Office decree it is the Fifth Hour," she said. "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home," Shinka said. "Well, to Sanae's house, anyway. You're welcome to come with, I guess."

Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation?"

Shinka shrugged. "She has the biggest bed."

Dekomori chuckled. "My deathly abode does have its perks. You and Master are very welcome to accompany us, if you wish."

"What do you think, Rikka?" Yuuta asked.

Rikka smiled. "I think it sounds wise. There are multiple facets of the Mjolnir-Wielder's residence which might prove amenable to further rituals."

"Right," Yuuta said. He had a feeling this was going to be a very long night. "What about our clothes and stuff, though?" he continued. "Neither of us have got anything to change into without getting home first."

Shinka didn't miss a beat. "To be honest, Yuuta, I don't really foresee clothes being a problem when we get there."

Yuuta didn't really have a response for that. "Alright." He stood up and stretched his arms. "I'll call home on the way, then. I'm sure my family won't miss us for the night."

Dekomori laughed. "Some arrogance, Dark Flame Master. Once you enter the halls of my home, you may never be allowed to leave. It has been sealed with many wards. Even one such as you would struggle to escape, if I wished otherwise."

Shinka picked up her things and chucked them into her tote bag. "I dunno about you guys but I'm keen to get home. I need a shower. It'll be enough to get home without this mess flooding my underwear." She pressed her thighs together. "Yeah."

"I can help with that, Shinka," Rikka said. She shuffled on her knees over to where Shinka was standing. "Let me," she urged, and gently reached up under Shinka's skirt, pulling down her panties.

Shinka's eyes widened and her hands shot down to pull them back up. "Hey, wait just a minute- ah!"

Rikka's plan now became obvious, as the girl had darted in with her mouth and started cleaning Shinka up. "Ah, damn it," Shinka said, "you don't need to do that Rikk- ah-" Shinka looked helplessly at the other two, her mouth falling softly open, as Rikka's soft tongue moved over and inside her, cleaning up some of the mess she was in.

"My master is extremely dutiful," Dekomori remarked.

Shinka's legs felt weak, her knees buckling. One hand grabbed the back of Rikka's head, both to steady herself and pull the girl in further, the other on her shoulder. Rikka slid her finger into Shinka, trying to ascertain how much she could clean out of her. After half a minute or so of gently tending the taller girl, Rikka was satisfied she had got as much as was coming. She pulled back, pushing Shinka's underwear back into place. Shinka looked dazed.

Rikka swallowed her prize. "I always wanted to do that," she said, looking up at her and smiling.

Shinka looked at her with wide eyes. "Give me some warning next time," she scolded. "Now I feel clean, but now I'm going to be antsy all the way home."

"Sorry," Rikka said, genuine. "It seemed better in my head."

"I'm not complaining," Shinka said, pulling Rikka to her feet. She kissed her on the forehead. "Just… We really need to get home, as soon as possible."

Rikka stood up and winked. It was cute without her face bandaged, compared to how it normally came across. Winking with your only visible eye tended to be a lot less effective.

"Alright," Rikka said, pivoting on the heel of her skate shoes, making for the door. "Let's go!"

"I didn't mean THAT quickly!"

* * *

Shinka sat at the station with her bag firmly over her lap. Her hands clutched the top of it mercilessly. She didn't trust herself if she left them empty. The events of the afternoon replayed in her mind in a loop. She didn't think she'd ever been this wound up, and this was after already coming once…

Yuuta sat next to her and offered her a juice box. She took it gratefully, hands not quite steady. "That bad, huh?"

"You have absolutely no idea, Yuuta," she said.

"Sorry. That thing Rikka did surprised me about as much as it did you."

Shinka closed her eyes in despair. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "Oh, I liked it fine. Just being left on edge hurts." She opened her eyes. She punched the straw through the foil hole with little ceremony and took a huge sip. "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem," Yuuta said. Across the station platform, Rikka and Sanae were running around in their usual chuunibyou games. "I have no idea how those two still have the energy to run around like that."

"Sanae has stamina you can't even imagine," Shinka said. "You realise we'll all be up until 2am because of her."

"I guess I won't need to imagine for too much longer," Yuuta replied.

Shinka snorted. "No, I guess you won't."

"Is she, uh, OK with me?" Yuuta asked. "I feel like I know her the least well out of all of us."

"That's probably true. She was going on about wanting to feel the 'touch of her master' but I did make a point to ask her about how she felt towards you, in case we got to this point."

"And?"

"She didn't want to admit it, so she spouted some chuunibyou nonsense about your supposed powers. She's a passive-aggressive brat, so she'll make you do all the work, but I think she's fine with the idea." Shinka sounded defeated. Yuuta could only imagine what kind of experience she was speaking from.

"Demanding, huh," Yuuta suggested.

"That's one word for it. I love her, but she can be a real pain sometimes."

"Do you love me?"

Shinka flinched, not seeming to have anticipated this question.

"Put me on the spot, why don't you?" she hissed. "Jeez, Togashi, what kind of question is that?"

"I dunno," Yuuta said, looking at the floor. "Just… I guess we're close, now. I mean, we were before. But now we really sealed it." He bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm not opposed to the idea. I just don't want to push you into feelings you can't reciprocate. I really like you, Shinka. Like, a lot. Even before this whole thing started. I just want to know where we stand, if we keep doing this kind of thing."

Shinka softened at that, and mentally chewed on it for a few moments. "It took me months to admit to myself what that idiot over there meant to me," she started. "Even when everyone else I knew could see it. Including you. At least you and Rikka were constantly upfront about your feelings, even if your relationship progress for a year or so was completely lame. I guess the lesson there is that I should have been upfront about my feelings, too." She looked at him. "So, yeah, I don't know. I guess? To be honest, I'm still trying to work it out… after all," she swept out a hand, "friends don't do this kind of thing, right?"

"Right."

"I don't know how this dynamic is going to pan out with those other two," Shinka said, "but none of us are particularly jealous. Let's just see where it goes for now."

"At the moment, I think it's going straight to Dekomori's bedroom," Yuuta muttered.

"Please, Yuuta, I'm trying to control myself here. Your girlfriend's to blame for that after she took it on herself to lick _you_ out of me. So for your sake, I advise you not to remind me that I'm currently higher strung than a violin tuner's nightmare - because if we are in _love_ ," she said fiercely, "I will make you pay for it later." Shinka crushed the empty juice carton in her hand.

"That's fair," Yuuta said.

Across the platform, Rikka and Sanae had finally finished their play-fight. Either a winner had prevailed, or they had just got too hot. It was hard to tell from where they were sitting. The two girls slumped down onto the nearest bench.

"Well-fought, my servant," Rikka panted.

"And to you," Sanae nodded. "It is good that our experiences earlier have not tempered your battle acumen."

Rikka frowned. "Such rituals of energy transference cannot dampen the power of the Wicked Lord."

"I am glad to hear it, Master."

Rikka blushed as she considered her next question. "Deko, back in the clubroom… your ritual moves were extremely cool. Would you... teach me to do that... thing... with your mouth..."

Sanae looked sly. "Would you ask me to divulge such a secret of the Mjolnir?"

Rikka frowned. "Such secrets are your prerogative, of course, my servant. However, if you wish to unlock my companion perks. It will be only to your benefit."

Dekomori grinned. "Is that so? Truth be told, such feats don't require your skill points being invested in it. You will only level up by adopting a deathly practice regimen."

Rikka nodded enthusiastically. "Right." She smiled, slightly embarrassed. "I hope we can try that later then."

Dekomori smirked. "I think the Fake Summer might well force you to."

Rikka smiled. "I wouldn't mind that."

Off in the distance, the screeching metal sound that heralded train wheels on the hot track came to them.

"Train's coming," Dekomori said. "We'd better go with the others." She jumped to her feet. "Come on!"

The two of them walked over to where Shinka and Yuuta were sitting.

"Train's coming," Dekomori said.

"Thanks," Yuuta said. As it screeched into the station, the four of them got ready to get on. Shinka sighed. This was going to be the longest train ride of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

The train ride had been hot, cramped, uncomfortable, and from Shinka's point of view, about thirty minutes too long. Whilst it was incorrect to say it was only thing she currently lusted after, right now a shower was number one on the list.. She was sweaty, hot, sticky, and her underwear felt disgusting. She mentally sighed. _Thanks, Togashi._

Shinka had spent a lot of time at Sanae's house in the last weeks - well, at Sanae's mansion - so she knew where the bathrooms were; she mentally traced and retraced the steps to get into one during the group's trudge up from from the station, quite oblivious to much beyond putting one foot in front of the other.

She felt a tug at her hand and blinked, her modest fantasies disappearing, replaced with the glare of the sun in the late afternoon street, the others looking at her as they walked down the road together. She looked down at her hand. Rikka was close to her side, tugging at it with hers.

"Huh," Shinka said, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. "Everything alright, Rikka?"

Rikka looked at Shinka and tugged her hand again. After the events of earlier, she hadn't put the bandage back over her eye; Shinka looked blankly back at two heterochromatic eyes. Yuuta failed to suppress a smile. "She wants to hold your hand, Shinka."

Shinka's face turned red as she began to stammer an apology. "A-Ah, sorry Rikka," she said, shaking her head, "I was totally out of it." Shinka scanned the street, looking to see if anyone was watching. Finding the street empty other than the hot afternoon air, Shinka opened her left hand, Rikka's fingers intermeshing with hers immediately.

Rikka's hair twitched. "Thanks," she said, simply, the two girls continuing to walk, Rikka now closer to the taller girl as they did so. Shinka concentrated on the feeling of Rikka's hand in hers as they moved along; the girl's hand was soft, her palm against hers feeling nice. Shinka allowed herself a content smile to match the one on Rikka's face.

After some more minutes of walking, the four of them reached Sanae's place, the air conditioned inside a blessed relief as they entered. Shinka gave Rikka's hand a squeeze, before trying to pull her hand away so she could step out of her trainers and dump her bag.

Rikka let her go only very reluctantly, the chuuni's fingers trying to maintain contact as long as possible. Pink stained Shinka's cheeks, the intimacy in Rikka's desire for contact evident.

She gave the blue-haired girl a modest kiss on the cheek. "Jeez, Takanashi," she whispered, touching the girl's shoulders lightly, not trusting herself to do any more. "Give me a few minutes, okay?" She stood up. "I'm going to get cleaned up," Shinka said, to everyone this time. "I'll see you upstairs." That announced, Shinka walked off, heading for the open stairs.

Dekomori turned to Rikka and Yuuta, awkwardly standing in the atrium, their own shoes and bags stowed. Yuuta felt the cold floor seeping into his feet. It was welcome.

"Are your parents around? Shouldn't we say hello?" Yuuta asked.

Sanae shook her head. "That is unlikely to be effective with few others here, Togashi. Effectively, we shall have the place to ourselves until the weekend."

Yuuta nodded, somewhat glad that Sanae's parents weren't around. It was good to know they weren't being impolite, but... _I doubt her parents would approve,_ he thought.

"Follow me," Dekomori said, puffing her chest theatrically, "I'll show you where my deathly command quarters are." She led them up the stairs, twintails dancing as she moved up the plush staircase, Rikka and Yuuta only far enough behind to avoid being hit.

As the three of them turned left at the top of the stairway, Yuuta became utterly unsurprised at the number of doors they walked past. _This really is a mansion._ Sanae led the way with her usual enthusiasm, the three of them eventually arriving at the door to her room, the exterior looking like it had been the sole survivor of a catastrophic explosion in a sticker factory. The natural wood door had been plastered with a large, if perhaps predictable, number of stickers.

"You probably want to do the same as Shinka and get cleaned and changed," Sanae said, her face turning pink, the thought of why that might be necessary present in her mind. "You two can use the bathroom opposite, if she's not in there."

Yuuta looked at Rikka. "Do you want to go first?"

Rikka smiled, shy, her eyes looking at him. "I… I was hoping we could go together…"

Yuuta was surprised, but given the events of the day, it wasn't a big shock. "Sure, if Sanae doesn't mind."

Sanae's smile was wicked, her imagination racing. She winked at Rikka. "Very well, master. I should have foreseen that, no doubt. The shower is available for you behind that door," she continued, pointing down the hallway. "It should be free; I would expect Shinka to have chosen the one in my room. I'll use that one, too."

Rikka nodded. "Thank you, Deko. We shall reconvene with you afterwards."

"Alright," Sanae agreed. "I'll put some clothes outside the door for you, too" she said, before looking at Yuuta. "I will search the armory of the Mjolnir for something for you also, Dark Flame Master"

"No girls' clothes, please," Yuuta said, not entirely sure what Sanae would turn up. "Or chuunibyou outfits. If you can find something a regular person would wear, that would be great."

"You doubt my deathly abilities?" Sanae's look was innocent, her wide eyes covering over her inner amusement. "The armory of the Mjolnir is extensive, Togashi. I suggest you and my master don't rush your shower, or you will be standing around in the cold whilst I rush to find something." Sanae turned away and walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

Rikka looked up at Yuuta, taking his hand. "Come on then," he said.

They opened the door Sanae had pointed to, flipping the light on to reveal a palatial looking bathroom, the walls set in brown marble-effect tile (thought it was probably real marble); the shower sat in the corner, looking large and inviting, a bathtub set against the wall. Rikka looked longingly at the bath. "I don't think Shinka will give us the time to have a real bath," Yuuta said, dashing her hopes and dreams.

"Yeah," Rikka looked disappointed.

Yuuta squeezed her hand. "I'm sure Sanae has an even bigger one, somewhere in this huge house. Let's mention it to her… afterwards."

Rikka's hair twitched at the thought. "Yeah, that might be nice."

Yuuta looked at her, his expression concerned. "Are you alright? You've come over really quiet, Rikka."

She turned to him and pressed her face into his chest, her arms encircling him. Yuuta put his arms round her too, rubbing her shoulder. "Hey! Come on you, what's up?"

"I'm okay, I guess," she said, turning her face so she could breathe. "I'm fine... just a bit overwhelmed, Yuuta."

"You and me both," he said. "Are you… Are you upset by how things went today?"

"No," she said, her voice muffled by his shirt. "No, I'm happy. Just moving on unsure feet in a wasteland devoid of aetheric guides."

Yuuta rubbed her back, whilst he processed her meaning. "I'm here," he said, trying to reassure her. "Well, me… and Shinka and Sanae too, I guess, if you can get sense out of her. Just speak up if you need to take things a bit slower, okay?"

"That's not how I feel," Rikka sighed, clutching him. "I'm happy about us all being… together… I'm just... " She looked up at him, her expression half-plaintive, half-embarrassed. "I'm worried about how quickly we all got into it… but if you ask me if I want to stop-" Rikka shook her head. "I don't want to stop. I want to go on..." She bit her lip. "I want to go on further with everyone," she reaffirmed.

Yuuta nodded. "If you're confused about this whole thing, imagine how Shinka feels," he said. "Shinka "Perfect Adolescence" Nibutani falling into this messy quadrangle is definite proof that life has a sense of humour."

"I think she gave up on being perfect when she admitted her feelings for my eternal servant," Rikka said. "You know how that mess ended..."

Yuuta cast back his mind, remembering how awkwardly Shinka had reacted those months ago, once she had got over herself and confessed her feelings. The fallout had been half-amusing and half-terrifying, Shinka turning crimson as she struggled to explain just what had happened.

"She is a little more relaxed these days," Rikka said.

"Yeah, maybe, though it hasn't stopped her arrogance... or her put downs..."

"I think you like that about her," Rikka muttered.

Yuuta blushed. "Yeah," he admitted. "But you've seen, she has a soft side as well, even if she tries to pretend like she's judging you for it. It's just an act, Rikka. If she didn't want to be doing this we would have been chewed out for it already."

"Is this easy for you, Yuuta?" she questioned his chest. "Now that I think about it, it's hard." Her cheeks turned pink, unseen. "Well... I mean, I want to be close with everyone… but thinking about it..."

"All afternoon I've been thinking of all the time we've spent with them over the last two years," Yuuta said, "and all the things they've done for and with us. This isn't something we've done on a whim with strangers, this is... well, it's not normal, but we must have had some idea about it coming, right?"

Rikka thought, then nodded. "Those two helped us realise our feelings for each other. Then we helped them realise their feelings for each other. Now we all want to realise our feelings with each other and there's nobody there to help. It's a mess, Yuuta."

"It's bound to be awkward, Rikka," the boy said, heartfelt. He knew it had been difficult enough for Rikka to get her head around being with him, to confess her love, to rationalise her teenage delusions with their relationship, even to kiss him for the first time. Now two more partners had been tossed into the mix for her. Yuuta could only imagine the struggle. "Falling in love with people is hard work, Rikka. But it's not all work, I guess? Let's try and enjoy it if we can."

Rikka stared at her feet. "I don't know if I love them, Yuuta."

He smiled at her. "I mean, you wanna tell me that you don't at least like Shinka more than a friend when you're trying to hold her hand walking along the road, let alone certain other things you've done with her earlier today."

Rikka pouted. "Was my attempt at proximity to her that obvious..."

Yuuta smiled. "Well, your attempt in the street was. I don't know about the other thing."

"I thought it would help her... she seemed to like it." Rikka paused. "So did I..."

"I think she liked it," Yuuta said, reassuringly, "just sudden, I guess. What did you mean though, when you said "I always wanted to do that"?" His face turned red as he recalled what had happened. "Have you been thinking indecent thoughts, Rikka?" he teased.

She stuttered, embarrassed. "I-Ideas like that might have come into my head after watching that video. I told you I was having trouble with it."

Yuuta delivered a chop on her forehead. "Owww," she muttered.

"No 'trouble', okay? We're all fine with each other, I think," he said. "Don't feel embarrassed about anything."

A small smile crept on to Rikka's face, her eyes far off as she thought about this. "I'm really glad we all admitted it," she said, quietly. "I'm glad we didn't all fall out."

"Yeah, this is a bit surreal, but I guess we'll get used to it?" Yuuta sighed. "I don't really know what I should have expected when we're all delusional teenagers anyway."

"We will need a new lovers' contract," Rikka said, thoughtful. "One with four signatories..."

Yuuta ran his hand through his hair as he thought about that. Rikka pulled away. "We should probably get clean now, right? I'm going to take my contact lens out."

Rikka stared at her face in the mirror over the sink, trying to get the contact lens out with her fingers. Yuuta looked away. Contact lenses were gross. He had no problems with Rikka wearing one, but to get them in or out… hard pass from him. Rikka turned around once she had pried the offending plastic lens free, her teal eyes looking at him, only slightly watery from poking into them. She tilted her head and gave him a small smile, before she walked over to him. Rikka stared up at his face, her eyes open, her look honest.

"I don't know if I will wear that contact lens again here," she said, uncertain, her hands flat on his chest. "It's cool, but... it makes it hard to see everyone so much..."

Yuuta ruffled her hair. "You do you, Rikka."

Their conversation apparently over for the moment, Yuuta turned the shower on, the powerful jet of water ricocheting on the shower basin, steam rising behind the screen.

Rikka kicked her heels. "Yuuta," she said, "will you help me undress…" He smiled. Rikka could be cute when she wanted something. They had done a lot together, but having a shower together was something new; he stepped over and kissed her on the forehead. "Let's help each other," he suggested.

Rikka smiled, raising her arms up, allowing him to remove her school blouse. Yuuta ran his hands gently up her sides to the buttons, trying to make it more fun and loving than it being as a chore for a child. Rikka blushed, her expression content as she felt him undo the buttons, Yuuta pushing the shirt gently down over her shoulders once it was loose. She shivered as it fell away, before putting her hands on him, getting his shirt unbuttoned as well. The rest of their clothes quickly came off, a few gentle touches and cares exchanged with their more intimate underwear, the two eventually standing together, ready for their shower. Rikka kissed his chest. "Let's get in before we waste all of Deko's water," she said, leading him in by the hand.

The water was hot, cleanly enticing compared to the sticky air outside, and blissfully welcome after the hot day. Yuuta reached down and picked up a bottle of shower soap, massaging the liquid in his hands, and then shortly over Rikka as they stood under the water. Rikka closed her eyes as his hands moved over her, enjoying the firmness of his hands, enjoying the contact between them. Yuuta covered her back, rubbing the soap into her arms, her breasts, her stomach. Rikka hummed as she enjoyed the ritual. "That feels really nice, Yuuta," she said.

When it was done, Rikka rinsed off, head lifted upward into the shower jet, beaming as the water ran over her.

"Now let me do you," she said, motioning for him to give her the soap. Rikka's technique of washing was naturally less gentle, the girl usually preferring to get clean as quickly as possible, but she tried to be gentle so that her boyfriend would enjoy it, her hands lingering over his chest and his thighs as she massaged the soap into him. Once she was done, she pulled the shower fixture from the holder, hosing him down directly, eyes wide as they watched the soap suds run off, admiring the features of the boy she loved. Yuuta blushed at the attention. "Thanks, Rikka."

"Think nothing of it," she replied.

The shower was shut off, and once wrapped in a towel, Rikka gingerly opened the door to see if Sanae had left them anything clean to wear. Outside, a set of clothes lay crumpled against the wall, the concept of folding clothes herself clearly alien to Sanae. Rikka poked inside for the label, finding a set of very Dekomori-esque pyjamas in a size that would probably fit her.

And under that…

Rikka stifled a laugh.

"That bodes well," Yuuta muttered. "What is it?" he called over to his girlfriend.

Rikka struggled to pick up the clothes whilst maintaining full towel decorum, but eventually managed, hooking the door shut behind her with her elbow. She held up a black t-shirt.

"Wait, I recognise this," Yuuta started. "Wasn't this _Shinka's_?"

Rikka nodded. "Yeah, looks like it's the same one I gave her in the club room last year. Deko must have thought it would fit you." She checked the label. "It just says generic M for medium, Yuuta."

Yuuta scowled. "I said no girl's clothes."

Rikka frowned back. "T-shirts are unisex, Yuuta."

"T-shirts might be unisex but they are unsexy," he grumbled. "Did she get me any underwear, at least?"

Rikka nodded. "Yeah, there's some here for you."

Yuuta sighed. It was probably better than nothing. He took the clothes Rikka was holding out, putting them down before drying off sufficiently to wear them. Rikka did the same, drying herself, her choice to towel her hair dry in a battle pose causing Yuuta to laugh. She smiled back, playfully. "Stop it…"

Yuuta pulled the black t-shirt over his head. The white kanji on the front glared at him.

Rikka smiled reassuringly at him. "You look good."

Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "You look like Sanae." Rikka was draped in a set of Sanae's usual nightwear, cream silk pyjamas with red trim, the size just about right for her. Yuuta looked over her, the silk sheer. "Well, you look good too, but still, a bit like Dekomori."

Rikka took his hand and smiled. "I don't think it matters. The way Shinka was speaking earlier, we might not be wearing these for very long."

Yuuta kissed her gently, Rikka craning her neck as their lips touched, up on her tiptoes.

He broke off and tousled her hair, Rikka batting away his hand.

"Let's go find the others," he said, Rikka nodding, then locking her hand with his, as they left the bathroom together.

They walked down the hallway, getting back to Sanae's bedroom, Yuuta knocking carefully on the door. Sanae's wry laugh came from inside. "Heh heh heh," her voice came through the door, "Who approaches the fortress of the Mjolnir Hammer?"

Yuuta sighed. "If we're the only ones here, Dekomori, who else is it going to be?"

There was no response for some seconds, before the door swung suddenly ajar, Dekomori's blonde face looking at them through the gap, her expression stern. "You are no fun, Togashi," she scowled.

Yuuta looked at her; her twintails had made way for untied blonde hair that cascaded around cream-coloured shoulders, the same pyjamas that she had given Rikka a pair of around her body. "Can we come in now?" he asked. "Or should I ask the other, bluer-haired Sanae?"

Dekomori sighed. "I suppose you can, since your companion here has such deathly excellent sartorial tastes. Come on then."

Sanae opened the door, smiling wickedly as the two filed past her into the room. Once in, she cast a glance sidelong in the hallway; satisfied they were alone, she closed the door, sliding the multiple locks on it shut, and throwing a hand theatrically at the closed plane of wood, chanting some chuunibyou rites that Yuuta gathered were supposed to ward away evil.

Yuuta sighed, shaking his head. "Speaking of evil," he began once Dekomori had apparently finished, "where's Shinka?"

"She is in the shower," Sanae said, turning from the now very-well sealed door, pointing to the other side of the room. "Behind that door, Togashi, lies your target. She-"

The door helpfully swung open, revealing the aforementioned Nibutani, emerging from the ensuite to join the others. Shinka was dressed in her favoured set of blue twin-layered pyjamas, the short legs showing off plenty of her calves. She brushed her damp hair out of her face, not having bothered to pin it up, her hair falling down her back seductively. Yuuta swallowed, noting Rikka staring at her too out of the corner of his eye. Shinka looked great.

Shinka looked over at the two of them, a wry smile curling her mouth when she saw Yuuta wearing her t-shirt. "Cute."

Yuuta smiled. "Yeah, you are."

Shinka rolled her eyes, walking over to Sanae and giving her a peck on the cheek. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to masturbate in that shower," Shinka whispered in her ear.

Sanae blushed. "I admire your restraint," Dekomori said. Yuuta and Rikka, hearing one half of the conversation only, looked at each other. Rikka shrugged. Yuuta looked upwards. "Yeah, me neither," he mouthed.

"Speaking of restraint," Shinka said out loud, standing upright, "that reminds me. Wait a second." Shinka disappeared back into the bathroom, the sound of a tap the only clue to what she was doing. After a minute or two, she re-entered the room, fighting her way past the door with two glasses of water and something silver in her mouth. "Hfld t yr hfnds," she said, kicking it shut behind her and moving over to join the others. When she reached the bed, she opened her mouth and dropped the silver thing on it, pushing the water into Rikka's and Sanae's open hands. Shinka started fiddling, snapping some of the packets from what she had been carrying. She gave one each to the two other girls.

"Before we start, swallow one of these."

Yuuta quirked an eyebrow. "What's that?" he asked.

"Contraceptives," Shinka said, rolling her eyes. "What, did you think I'd let you come inside me just like that? I like you, Yuuta, but not that much."

"Ah," Yuuta said. "Good of you to think about it."

"One of us had to."

Sanae had swallowed hers immediately. Rikka was still holding it.

"No buts, Takanashi," Shinka said, folding her arms. "Even if you hate tablets, you'd be thankful to have this one."

"It is not necessary for me to swallow this, Shinka. The contract of lovers has already alerted me to the need for this particular alchemy."

"Rikka means she already takes one," Yuuta explained. "The two of us are that sensible, at least."

Shinka sighed. "Good. Now get on the damn bed."

Sanae's bed was an ocean, an obscenely large mass of pink covers, sheets and pillows that far dwarfed the twintail in size. Yuuta could have lay across it sideways with his arms out and still not touch any of the edges. "Some bed," he marvelled.

Dekomori cackled. "My infernal palace of night is indeed what a mortal such as you might call a 'bed', Togashi. However, I will concede it suits this number of lovers well." Sanae paused, blushing. "Come nightfall we may all be glad of the extra space." She threw herself onto the bed, landing on her front, cream pyjamas billowing around her as the air was squeezed out by the impact, hair spreading around her prone form.

She turned her head, looking back at the others.. "Help yourselves..."

Shinka looked intently at Rikka, her brown eyes locked into Rikka's seeking approval. Rikka nodded, once, and smiled. Shinka took Rikka's hand and climbed onto the bed, pulling the blue haired girl along with her. Rikka allowed herself to be led, falling in front of Shinka, their eyes level. Shinka didn't bother saying anything further; she immediately took the girl's head in her hands and pulled her in for a kiss, her hands held around Rikka's cheeks even as their lips touched. She could feel Rikka's face heat up under her thumbs. The girl tasted like toothpaste. Yuuta watched Shinka push herself up on her knees as they got into it, Shinka's frustration and desire manifesting itself urgently. Rikka's neck craned back as she did so, her eyes closed, the girl humming, her pleasure at their kiss manifesting as a small reaction.

Yuuta got onto the bed next to Sanae, content to watch for a moment.

Shinka reluctantly pulled away from Rikka. "I've been wound up for hours since you pulled that stunt earlier," she breathed, looking straight into Rikka's teal eyes, still framed by her hands. "It seems only fair if you can help me with what you started..."

Rikka put her right hand up to Shinka's left and intertwined their fingers, her head turning slightly so she could kiss the base of Shinka's palm. "I'd like that," she said. "Do you need Yuuta to finish inside you again first?"

Shinka's mouth fell open. "Oh my God. Are you for real?" Nibutani felt dizzy. It was embarrassing enough the first time; now Takanashi was asking her if she wanted her to do it _again_?

Rikka looked down. "I don't mind," she said, quietly, "I like it…"

Shinka felt so hot between her thighs, the air in the room felt cold, her senses oversensitive. She clamped her eyes shut and her thighs together, her hands gripping the bedspread for dear life, her knuckles turning white. Her eyes shut as she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Talk me out of this, Sanae," Shinka pleaded, her eyes staying closed. "Please."

Sanae smirked, though Shinka couldn't see the devious grin on her face. "Alas, my love, I can do no such thing," Dekomori began. "I have already pledged my master instruction in your favourite technique. So if she requires a caveat before I have the opportunity to deliver the wisdom of the Mjolnir, it will be my sacred duty to help both of you achieve this."

"This is so messed up," Shinka whimpered. Her composure felt like it was melting away between her legs. Her head whipped round to look at Yuuta, who had retreated to the other side of the bed. "Your girlfriend is absolutely filthy," she growled. "This is what happens when you don't kiss for a year, Togashi! It all comes out at once!"

Yuuta stammered, embarrassed, clutching the back of his head desperately. "Ah... Y-Yeah, probably..."

Dekomori was whispering in Rikka's ear, the older girl nodding quickly at whatever she was saying. "Sounds good, my servant," she replied, as Dekomori moved away, crawling behind Shinka where the pillows were laid out. She reached behind her and threw some of them towards Rikka. Sanae put her hands on Shinka's shoulders and kissed her on the back of her neck. "I have an idea of how to do this," Dekomori said. "If we are all going to be involved."

"Please," Shinka pleaded.

Sanae's lips surrounded Shinka's earlobe, her teeth grazing it as she pulled back. Shinka moaned. "Relax, my love," Sanae said, her breath hot in her ear. "You're in our capable hands."

Her hands slipped sensuously down Shinka's sides, her hands meeting and slipping under the hem of Shinka's pyjama top. Dekomori pulled the sky-blue cotton in her hands, moving to pull Shinka's top over her head. "Wait," Shinka urged, her hand moving to still her girlfriend's. Shinka looked awkwardly at Yuuta and Rikka. "Sorry. I'm just..." she looked sideways, embarrassed. "I'm just nervous, okay? I don't mind if you see... It's just a big thing for a girl, okay?"

"Why are you worried?" Yuuta asked, gently. "We're all friends here, so-"

Shinka's hand shot out, grabbing Yuuta by the shirt and tugging him forwards.

"We're not friends, Togashi," she whined, her tone urgent, their eyes level. "We're all more than that now! And I care what you thin-"

Yuuta pulled the girl in for a kiss, cutting off her words. "Nnf," Shinka cried, before his tongue was over hers, cutting off all further sound. Yuuta shuffled forwards, forcing Shinka to retreat back, forcing her up into Sanae against the end of the bed. Dekomori saw what was happening and let Shinka fall into her arms, Shinka's back pressing against Sanae, Sanae's back pressed against the pillows. Yuuta knelt between Shinka's smooth thighs now, Shinka's legs pulled up, her feet by his knees, their soles pressed flat against the bedspread. As Sanae got her hands around her girlfriend, Yuuta broke off their kiss, a string of saliva connecting them as he pulled away. Shinka wiped her mouth, her eyes and expression nervous, her chest heaving as she tried to regain composure.

Yuuta looked at Rikka. "Carry on, Rikka," he said, not unkindly. "Show this idiot that we really do care."

Rikka scrambled over and placed her own lips on Shinka's, Nibutani's hand reaching around the back of Rikka's head and pulling her in after their lips met.

The two girls began making out, Rikka throwing herself at Shinka to meet the ferocity of the bigger girl's kiss. Shinka tilted her head, her tongue entering Rikka's mouth, Rikka moaning through their embrace as she got deeper into it. Sanae, meanwhile, began kissing Shinka's neck, her mouth wide on her collar and shoulder. Yuuta began rubbing Shinka's exposed calves whilst the two girls kissed her.

"You've got three people getting off with you at once, Shinka. Isn't that enough for even your ego?"

He didn't bother to wait for the inevitable response, instead pulling the black t-shirt Sanae had given him earlier over his head, exposing his bare chest. Shinka turned her head to reply, Rikka's lips kissing the side of her face once their kiss was broken, her eyes staring at his bare skin, absorbing the details. Behind her, Sanae was doing exactly the same.

"Idiot," she muttered, "this is going to be so embarrassing."

"Shinka," Yuuta said.

"Yeah," she asked.

"Stop talking."

Shinka suppressed a comeback, instead moving to slide her pyjama top off, her arms crossing in front of her as she pulled it over her head. Yuuta's eyes traced her skin as it became visible, eyes running from Shinka's navel, to her exposed breasts, to the flushed skin on top of her chest, to the eyes that looked at him with a defiant desire as she tossed her clothes away. She winked. "Memories last forever, Yuuta."

Rikka and Sanae were urgently disrobing now, Shinka's own the trigger. Rikka pulled off her clothes quickly, shameless now, immediately resuming her kiss with Shinka once her body was free. As the two girls resumed their exploration of each other's mouth, Sanae peeled her pyjamas off too, looking away awkwardly as she got naked.

In short order, everyone was stripped. Shinka gently broke her kiss with Rikka, before the four of them took a moment to look at each other, everyone now truly exposed without inconvenient school clothes in the way. Yuuta marvelled at the three girls in front of him, his eyes running up Shinka's leg, to look over Rikka, down Rikka's arm, over to Sanae's chest. He looked at their faces. Rikka and Dekomori were sneaking glances at each other, Shinka's look into his eyes making him ready, a fact not dented by the fact there were two other naked girls with and behind her.

"You all look amazing," he said, his face red.

Sanae turned her head and looked at him, eyes running up and down his form, the part of him hard below the waist catching their explicit attention. Sanae bit her lip. "Not bad yourself, Togashi," she said, trying to stop the awkward smile coming onto her face and failing.

Rikka moved herself to the crux of Shinka's hip, her right leg up and parallel with Shinka's, her left splayed out between Shinka and Sanae. Rikka put a hand around the girl's waist, lightly caressing her side, her wrist tickled by Shinka's long hair. Rikka gently slipped her right hand under where their legs were, pulling Shinka's thigh up at an angle with hers, the soft contact between their skin making them both exhale, Shinka's sex becoming open and visible.

Shinka's face was flushed. "Quit gawping and come make love with me, Yuuta," she whined.

"Now isn't the time for sparring, idiot," he said.

"Says you. Now, quit stalling."

Yuuta moved forward, and positioned himself ready to enter her, the tip of him feeling her excitement, his erection straining as he felt how warm and wet she was.

"Unf," Shinka cried, as he slid inside her, her hours of anticipation removing all resistance, Yuuta able to move inside her with a single stroke. She felt him touch her so thoroughly inside, his warmth and hardness radiating into her. Yuuta felt her doing much the same to him, the softness of her insides indescribable, the warmth of their bodies beginning to hit each other.

Rikka watched him slide into Shinka, her eyes wide. She moaned softly. "That's so cool," she moaned, pulling her hand away from Shinka's waist so she could gently touch herself. Behind Shinka, Sanae's hands were caressing her, the blonde girl's fingers gently massaging Shinka's breasts, thumb and forefinger gently squeezing the tip as her other fingers rubbed the underside.

"Ah, that's it," Shinka moaned, her breaths becoming shorter. "Oh god, all of you, I'm pretty much going to come straight away," she gasped, "but Yuuta, keep going when I do, okay? I'll tell you to stop if it hurts." When she finished speaking, her body gently rocking under the effort, she turned her face to Rikka, lips slightly parted, Rikka needing no invitation to make her lips meet Shinka's again. Each time Sanae's hands tightened around her chest, Shinka moaned gently into her kiss with Rikka.

"You feel amazing," breathed Yuuta, the sight and feel of the girl fuelling his arousal. Behind Shinka, Sanae watched their congress, afforded an excellent vantage with which to watch what was happening.

"Shinka, my love, that's so hot," Sanae moaned. "I want to watch him make you come. Do it whenever you need to," she said, before kissing Nibutani's neck, her hot tongue moving behind her girlfriend's ear, Shinka near mewling at this point.

Shinka felt overwhelmed, stimulated in so many places and senses at once. "Ah," she moaned, "I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come," she announced, hips beginning to move as soon as her words finished, the buildup releasing after so long, it almost hurt. Yuuta could feel the girl tightening around him, the force of Shinka's climax gripping him; Shinka desperately shoved her tongue into Rikka's mouth as she came, Sanae squeezing her breasts as the climax shook her whole body. It was long, Yuuta's own pleasure apparent as she clamped around him, the involuntary convulsing of her body not at all disagreeable.

As her orgasm subsided, Shinka pulled back from Rikka, gasping for air, her heartrate pounding. "Hah, hah," she panted, her forehead touching Rikka's, Shinka's rapid breaths caressing her face.

"Was that good, Shinka?" Rikka asked, rubbing the inside of her thigh.

Shinka's head hit Rikka's shoulder, as she struggled for breath. "Oh," she breathed, "so much so." Rikka smiled shyly and kissed the side of her head. "I'll make you come again like that once Yuuta is done," she whispered in Shinka's ear.

Shinka felt the deep-seated ache set back into her at Rikka's words, becoming very aware Yuuta was still moving inside her, his movements feeling incredibly satisfying as he moved inside her, her orgasm having brought her closer around him. She looked sidelong at him, head still on Rikka's shoulder. "I am so ready for you to come inside me again," she urged.

Yuuta blew out his cheeks. "Hah, I'm getting there..."

Shinka raised her head, looking back at Sanae, who had taken to rubbing her sides after she came, knowing that overstimulating Shinka after her climax would have hurt rather than feel good. "Sanae, go and help him out, alright," Shinka moaned.

Sanae kissed her on the collarbone. "Sounds good to me." She wriggled out from behind Nibutani, helping Shinka fall backwards on the bed without the younger girl to prop her up.

Shinka reached out and took Rikka's hand. "I really liked kissing you," she admitted.

Rikka touched her lips with the hand that wasn't between her legs, tearing her eyes from where she had been watching Yuuta move in and out of Nibutani. "Yeah, me too, Shinka," she admitted.

Shinka smiled and squeezed her hand. "Come and sit in front of me, Rikka. Let me kiss a different part of you and help you come, okay?"

Sanae moved up next to Yuuta, their height almost equal on the bed. "Hi," she grinned.

"Like what you see?" Yuuta asked

Sanae stared at what he was doing with Shinka, her eyes shutting briefly as a wave of arousal hit her. "Togashi, you are doing something absolutely indecent with my lover. With my blessing. How could I fail to be aroused at that?"

Yuuta gave her an unconfident smile. "You might be more so if we kiss."

Sanae grinned. "So bold, Dark Flame Master. So brazen. Yet, it sounds good to me," she whispered, leaning forward and taking his lips in hers.

The contact from her was diffident at first, her inexperience at kissing him tempered with her lust, until after a few seconds, her desire began to win out, and her lips became wet as she kissed him more deeply.

"Ah," he moaned, the wet sensation on his face and where he was inside Shinka working in tandem on him quite effectively. "Ah, that feels good..."

Sanae sent her tongue into his mouth, guiding his hand in between her bare thighs. Yuuta was surprised at how wet she was down there, his fingers sliding easily around her core, his eyebrows betraying him as he felt her.

"Don't imagine I can watch you with one of us and not get turned on," Sanae whined, her hands gripped around his wrist. "Especially since making Shinka come is usually my job…"

"Do you want to, uh, be with me next?" Yuuta asked. "I might need a few minutes, but after that…"

"Yes," was all Sanae said, her desire overwhelming.

In front of them, Rikka had climbed over Shinka, Shinka gently guiding the smaller girl's legs, until she was on her knees, Shinka between her thighs.

Shinka gave the skittish girl a smile, stroking the top of her thighs, trying to reconcile the fact that Yuuta was moving inside her still with the fact that she could no longer see him. If anything, it made his movements feel even better. "Relax," Shinka said, and gently put her mouth between Rikka's pale thighs.

Rikka immediately melted, feeling the warmth of Shinka's mouth. Shinka sent her tongue gently inside the girl, Rikka tasting like a mix of soap and salt. As the girl made some indecent noises of approval, Shinka pulled the smaller girl's hips in to get better access at her, her tongue causing Rikka to moan loudly as she moved it slowly up her opening to flick over Rikka's core.

"Ah," she gasped, "Nibu- Nibutani-"

Shinka smiled into her. "Relax and let me make you come," she said, voice sultry.

"This is payback for earlier."

"Are you close to coming inside my lover," Sanae whispered to Yuuta between kisses, his finger inside her now; Sanae's face was flushed, her wrists desperately pulling his hand.

Yuuta moaned. The childish Sanae calling Shinka her lover was such a disconnect, he couldn't help but find it incredibly hot. "I'm close, yeah," he said.

Shinka reluctantly pulled her mouth away from Rikka, the blue-haired girl panting as the contact was broken, the air feeling cold compared to the warmth of Shinka's mouth. Shinka blew gently on Rikka's core, the gentle stream of air caressing her. Rikka moaned loudly. Yuuta looked over in their direction, his view of much anything obscured by everyone.

"I swear, if you do not come inside all of us by the end of the night I will personally end you," Shinka's voice said. "Twice."

"I can manage once, at least," he said.

"Ugh, good enough," Shinka breathed, squeezing him with her pelvic muscles, her wet and hot opening squeezing him like earlier, encouraging him to come. "Hurry up and give me yours, Yuuta." She went back to eating out Rikka, the smaller girl pushing her hips eagerly back into Shinka's warm mouth, Shinka's hands guiding the small of her back. Rikka gripped the headstand of the bed for support, her legs unsteady as Shinka's efforts sent jolts of pleasure through her, her skin trembling at every touch.

"Ohh, Shinka," she moaned, eyelids fluttering, thighs weak, "that feels so good."

"Are you close, Rikka?" asked Yuuta.

"I- I think so, Yuuta," she cried, Shinka's tongue working mercilessly at her core, the brunette girl sucking gently at her, tongue in all the right places, Shinka's hands trailing around her hips, leaving goosebumps in their wake. "Y-Yeah, I'm close."

"Let's try and come together, Rikka," Yuuta said, feeling close as well, his kiss with Sanae heightening his feeling, hastening his own end.

"Do it," Sanae urged him, "show me."

Rikka gasped, as Shinka slid a finger inside her, the blue haired girl's hips buckling, Shinka using the flat of her tongue as she licked Rikka's core, the rough texture eliciting Rikka's orgasm. Her head swam. "Ah, Nibutani, I'm going to- I'm going to-"

Shinka slid a second finger inside Rikka, and Rikka came hard as she felt the penetration, Shinka moving her tongue throughout the chuuni's climax, Rikka reaching down and putting her hands into Shinka's still-damp hair as she rode her face, trying desperately to keep her balance as her legs shook with the force of climax, Shinka's tongue not stopping on her.

"Ah, ah, ah," she cried throughout, "Shinka, that's so good, ah-"

The highly vocal way in which Rikka's orgasm hit her was more than enough for Yuuta. Letting Rikka be loud enough for both of them, he desperately touched Sanae as his own orgasm hit him, hoping the urgency of his passion would transfer to his union with her. Sanae slid her knees apart, her thighs opening as she felt him touch her harder, letting him push his fingers inside her, Sanae almost as wet as Shinka was. Sanae sucked on his tongue, pulling it into her mouth, surrounding him completely with her own as he came, letting him force his way into her throat as his hips quaked and he sent his load into Shinka, Shinka humming as the warm fluid hit her insides again, unfamiliar yet welcome again all the same, her appreciation for his load genuine.

Yuuta felt the waves of pleasure run through him as he came, replaced with a familiar post-coital ache as his own climax left him, the slight pain massaged gently by Shinka's amazingly soft insides that had coaxed so much from him.

Shinka kissed Rikka's thighs, her mouth leaving a soft trail as Rikka regained her breath. "I've got Yuuta to finish inside me again first," she murmured, her lips close against Rikka's soft and pliant inner thighs. "And now you doubly owe me."

Rikka blushed, her orgasm leaving her sensitive, Shinka's kisses on her thighs butterfly-light but feeling like the most amazing sensation she had ever felt down there.

"Shinka," she gasped, breath still short, "that was amazing. Just let me get my breath back- hah-"

Shinka smiled, her kisses down the girl's other thigh, her hands on Rikka's hips stroking them gently, bringing the blue-haired girl gently down from her climax. "No rush, Rikka, okay? I've still got Yuuta in me. Speaking of which," Shinka said, patting Rikka's thighs in an encouragement to move, Rikka swinging her leg back away from Shinka, Shinka pushing herself up on her newly freed arms.

"God, Yuuta," she said, face red, seeing he was still inside her, his attention now on Sanae, their embrace deep and passionate, Yuuta's fingers moving over Sanae's core, the blonde girl grinding against his hand.

He broke away and looked at her, face red, face blank except for an expression overcome with lust. Shinka's eyes roamed his features, an expression she was too familiar with, the one she usually adopted when it was Sanae involved.

"Take care of my girlfriend, okay?" Shinka said.

"After you made me come like that there's no question that I will," he panted.

Shinka stared at where he was still in her, his motion stopped and his erection barely softer, the warmth he had spent in her pooling around him. "Rikka, how do you want to-"

Rikka crawled over to where Yuuta was in her, her expression slightly embarrassed.

"If you don't want to do it, it's okay, Rikka," she urged.

"It's not that," Rikka smiled, expression slightly wry. "This is just gonna be really lewd." She took hold of Yuuta's erection, gently pulling him from Shinka. The boy moaned, Sanae and him staring at what Rikka was doing, Sanae's eyes widening as she saw him in Rikka's hand.

"Oh my god," she moaned into his chest, "you'd better be ready again damn soon, Dark Flame Master."

Rikka, not standing on ceremony, tossed her hair out of her eyes as she moved her head down to Yuuta's erection, her tongue coming out and giving him a few tentative licks, her soft pink tongue beginning to clean off the evidence of his orgasm. Shinka lay on her elbows, watching enraptured.

"You were not kidding, Rikka," she breathed, the sight of Rikka's act driving the lust back into her. "Oh my god, that is damn _hot_ ," she breathed.

Sanae grinded her sex against Yuuta's knuckles, the noise of his fingers inside her indecently loud.. "Yeah," she whined, "that's hot."

Rikka smiled, her tongue getting as much as she could, moving her head to envelop him whole now, cleaning off the last part entirely within her mouth, Yuuta's erection swelling again as she did so, the gentle and wet feeling of her kindness never failing to make him hard again.

"Oh, Rikka," he moaned, "not too much… ahh…"

Rikka ignored him for a few seconds more, sure she had got everything, covering his erection in saliva, her tongue working it into him as she kept him in her mouth. She pulled away, the saliva forming a catenary strand as she sat up and smiled at him shyly.

"Rikka," he moaned, "I love you."

"Me too," Rikka smiled. "Now when you make love with Sanae, Shinka and I are involved too."

She winked, before going down to pay the same courtesy to Shinka, the blue-haired girl's mouth clamping down around Shinka's core, thrusting her soft tongue between the ex-cheerleader's thighs. Shinka's mouth fell open, the sensation of Rikka again stirring her insides with her tongue incredibly hot, Rikka making small noises as she tried to get everything out of her, Rikka desperately pulling in the bigger girl's hips towards her with her soft fingers.

Yuuta looked at Sanae, his erection physically painful after Rikka's act, the swelling in him stretching his arousal, his need for another orgasm growing quickly. Sanae nodded, taking his wet erection in her hand, Rikka's thorough cleanup making him slick between her fingers, her fingertips memorising the shape of him. "I think I'm ready, Togashi," she said, feeling him gently thrust into her hand.

Yuuta lowered the girl onto her back, her small breasts perking upward, her loose blonde hair scattering around her shoulders as she hit the bed. Yuuta moved over her, using his hand to tease her entrance with his erection, the wetness of her joining with all the fluid already on him.

"Let me know when," Yuuta said, mouth moving over her small breasts, teeth grazing her nipples, Sanae making heavy pants as he did so.

"I'm really ready, Togashi," she moaned.

Yuuta lowered his face to her neck, still teasing her with the prospect of being entered. "Don't call me 'Togashi'," he growled, gently. "It's not 'Togashi', it's not 'Dark Flame Master', it's Yuuta."

"Very well, Yuuta," she cried, "you have my permission to make love with me."

"Thank you, Sanae," he said, pulling on her hips and entering her as bidden.

"Ahhhh," Dekomori cried out, as he moved inside her slowly. The girl was incredibly tight, Yuuta unsure whether because of her smaller size or being less ready for him than she had claimed.

"God, you're tight, Sanae," he moaned into her neck.

His erection was pushing her inner walls apart, the tightness of her grip exceeding anything he'd ever felt, his slow entrance into her gripping him so hard, he felt like he might come immediately. He stopped, unsure whether to continue.

"Keep going," Sanae cried, "please. It feels good..."

Yuuta slowly pushed his whole length inside her, the base of him soon flush with her entrance. Sanae's legs gripped desperately around his hips, her calves pulling him in totally. Her face was enraptured, her expression fluttering as she took stock of his size.

"Does it hurt," he breathed, kissing her neck.

"Only a little," she said, her eyes watery, "less than when Shinka and I did it."

Yuuta grunted, thankful he hadn't been tasked with her very first time. "Do you want to stay like this? Or do you want me to move?"

Sanae pulled him in for a kiss, Yuuta's erection flexing inside her as their tongues met again, the tip of him feeling almost up against her cervix. Sanae moaned. "Keep doing that," she moaned, "just for a minute."

Yuuta flexed that part of him, the head of his erection flaring inside the blonde chuuni, her reaction loud and pleasurable. "Sanae, I need to move in you, you're too hot," he moaned, pulling slowly out of her, the egress almost as difficult as the ingress.

Beside them, Shinka was watching them as she came, Rikka's cleanup having turned into a firmer effort to make the brown-haired girl orgasm. Shinka's eyes were wide as she realised Rikka had been touching herself too, and as Rikka's sudden orgasm hit her, Shinka came shortly afterwards, her thighs clamping around Rikka's head. Shinka desperately pushed Rikka away after she came. "Rikka, please," she gasped. "Once I come, you have to stop for a minute.. It's too much…"

Rikka's face slumped. "Sorry, Shinka," she pouted. "I was going to ask Deko to help me with this. I should have foreseen she would become... waylaid."

Shinka tousled her hair. "It's okay," she smiled, offering a hand to Rikka, pulling her up so that they could lie on the bed together, watching Yuuta and Sanae finish their act together.

Rikka looked crestfallen. "I just really want to make you feel good like you did for me…" she said lowly, "and you have way more experience at that than I do."

The heartfelt disappointment on Rikka's face tugged at Shinka, and gently offered out a hand. Rikka blushed, gently sliding hers into Shinka's, fingers closing around it as it had earlier. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Don't worry about getting everything right, Rikka," Shinka said, trying to reassure her. "I mean, some things come with experience. Others… I mean, you just..." Shinka paused, not sure what to call it. Her face turned pink.

"You just licked your boyfriend out of me for the second time today!" Nibutani moaned, thinking about how Rikka's tongue had felt cleaning her out again. "Please stop worrying and start thinking about how fucking hot I'm finding that."

Rikka blushed. "I told you… I like it..."

Nibutani's eyes were wide, and she shook her head. "God, you are something else, Rikka," she whined. "It's so fucking filthy, I love it.."

Rikka smiled softly into Shinka's shoulder. "Good."

Shinka shivered. "That's not all I love about you," she began, hesitant. "I mean… the sex is good… with all of you… I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I might like you, Rikka," she said, her eyes soft. "I mean-"

Rikka crawled up over Shinka's body, until their faces were level, Rikka staring into Shinka's eyes. Rikka blinked back the wet film in her eyes, determined to look cool. "I'm really bad with feelings, too," Rikka said, "but as far as I can tell, me too, Shinka." She blushed.

"Do you really like me licking Yuuta's come out of you," she whispered, her lips on Shinka's ear.

"Yeah," Shinka whined, "it's gross, but it's fucking hot."

Rikka smiled devilishly. "When Yuuta comes inside Sanae, I want you to do it."

Shinka froze. "Eh?"

Rikka kissed her ear. "I want you to do it. I want you to lick Yuuta's come out of your girlfriend and swallow it or bring it back here for us to have together."

Shinka's face strained red, Rikka's words far beyond anything she could ever have imagined the somewhat heretofore innocent, socially awkward girl saying.

"Oh my god," she moaned.

"How can you say you like a girl if you won't do that for her," Rikka pouted.

"Oh my God, Rikka," Shinka moaned, "I keep telling myself it's not all about sex. But when you say things like that..."

A blush crept over Rikka's cheeks. "I'm not a complete pervert," she complained. "It's just... being with all of you. You and Yuuta and Deko make me feel secure enough to say this kind of thing."

Shinka swallowed. "Were you and Yuuta like this before... this?"

Rikka smiled. "Maybe."

Sanae, now, was moaning as Yuuta moved brusquely inside of her, his tongue on her collarbone now, her small body wracked with pleasure. "Ah, Dark F- Yuuta," she corrected herself, "ah, please," her voice moaning as he pushed back inside her,

Shinka and Rikka's cries of orgasm a few minutes ago had helped her along her own path, but as she looked down at where he moved his hips, feeling him stretch her inside, Sanae's head felt dizzy, the sensation desperately strong. Sanae's need to come was rising quickly, the visuals of what they were doing making her closer and closer.

Yuuta felt himself getting close again, and despite already coming inside Shinka twice today, the sensation was back building in him. His need to claim Dekomori was tangible, her hands and mouth urging on his lust, as she yelped in pleasure at each thrust inside her. He pinned down the younger girl's arms on the bed, her figure pinned between his hips and his hands. _Shinka liked this_ , he thought.

The effect on the girl was palpable. "Yuuta, Yuuta, I'm gonna come," Sanae mumbled, overwhelmed, grasping his face and kissing him lightly, her gaze fixed on his, staring at him as she came, her eyelids fluttering as the orgasm wracked her, the girl doing her best to look into his eyes. Yuuta felt the girl convulse under him, her impossibly tight walls tightening further around him, squeezing him hard, his own orgasm almost forced from him as they did so. Yuuta came too, vocally, his gasps as he erupted inside her loud and long. Yuuta stared into the chuuni's eyes as he came, her blue eyes full of longing as he fired everything he had deep inside her, the warmth of their orgasms heating them both up further still. He sent himself as far inside her as he could go and held still within her, before lowering his tensed arms and putting his body flush on hers.

Still she was looking at him, eyes soft and light, her expression fixated on him. Yuuta felt himself throb inside her. The girl looked like Rikka did after they had finished; a look of pure joy and love. Sanae gave him a small, but genuine, smile.

"Ah," she panted, her breath unsteady, "ah, that was…"

"That was something," he said, not sure what to say.

Shinka sat up, reluctantly relinquishing Rikka's hand, the chuuni's fingers trying to maintain contact as long as possible, again. She crawled unsteadily up to Yuuta's back, her breasts and hair tracing gently along his back as she surprised him, Yuuta jumping as she touched his shoulders.

"Tag out, Yuuta," she winked, playfully.

"' _Tag out_ '?"

"Well, maybe not immediately," she demurred. "Let me give you the handover."

Like Rikka had done earlier, she gently pulled Yuuta's softening erection out of Sanae, the blonde girl moaning as he left her, Yuuta exhaling as she touched him. She gave him a small, unsure smile. "Here."

She lowered her mouth to him, her hair falling around him, the soft texture of it brushing over him, before she moved it out of the way and gently cleaned him with her tongue. Tasting him for the first time, the thick texture and strong flavour caused her to pause a moment.

Yuuta rubbed her back. "You don't have to do this," he offered.

She didn't look at him, eyes fixed on her goal. "I know I don't have to," she said, quietly. "But I want to."

Determined, she gave him a few more licks, her tongue cleaning him up, Sanae pressing her thighs shut as she watched. She figured she was probably next.

Shinka took him entirely in her mouth now, gently ridding him of the mess, the flavour of him mixing with the one of Sanae's she already knew. Shinka's mouth was amazingly warm, the girl swirling around him clumsily with her tongue. Yuuta looked over at Rikka, overstimulated. "This was your idea, wasn't it..."

Rikka smiled. "I was thinking of a lot of things in class this afternoon..." she said.

Once Shinka had satisfied herself with the boy,, she pulled back, lips tracing tightly along him as she pushed him out, keeping everything she had got in. She pushed Sanae's thighs apart, her mouth clamping onto Sanae's opening, her mouth sucking gently as she got Sanae clean. Sanae squirmed at the treatment, gasping as Shinka dug her tongue inside, getting absolutely everything she could from her. The poor girl began to gasp, Shinka getting very much into it in a way Yuuta was surprised to see. There was no inexperience here; the image of Shinka working on Sanae was almost fierce.

Yuuta crawled back to take Shinka's place, lying next to Rikka, his head hitting the cushions, his heartrate beginning to slow down. He rubbed Rikka's shoulder as she put her head on his chest.

"Rikka… after we've recovered for a few minutes, do you want to tell us what the other things you were thinking about this afternoon were?"


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter was co-written with the excellent Redler Red7. Check out his work if you haven't already.

* * *

Rikka lay her hand on Yuuta's chest, feeling it rise up and down as he tried to regain his composure,. His skin beneath her hand was hot to the touch. His arm reciprocal around her shoulder moved subtly as her head was buoyed by his breathing.

"We're doing pretty well so far, Yuuta," she said softly. "I didn't expect Nibutani to be quite this keen on my idea, though."

The two of them watched the scene in front of them. Shinka's possessive style with Sanae had compelled them to look; the girl's hands were firmly around Sanae's hips, Shinka's long fingers wrapping around them and pulling her in. As her mouth and tongue worked firmly at the blonde girl, Sanae mewled as she felt the wet sensation of Shinka's attention. Rikka and Yuuta watched for a minute or so. After a few moments of hungry actions, Shinka judged herself finished, clamping her mouth shut as she pulled away and sat up.

Sanae slumped, her face flushed, her expression dazed from Shinka's efforts, her lover having been extremely thorough. Nibutani looked over at Rikka, the blue-haired girl meeting Shinka's questioning look with a wry smile.

Rikka spoke. "Swallow it."

Shinka screwed up her eyes, her jaw low with the weight of her tongue, the girl seemingly coming to terms with the idea. She took a deep breath, before tilting her head back and swallowing firmly. Rikka watched Shinka intently, her mouth softly pursing as she saw the other girl's throat move. Once done, Shinka poked out her tongue at Rikka, pink against her lips.

"All done," she said, her eyes shut, her cheeks burning.

Rikka's expression was kind, her eyes quietly pleased. "How was it?"

"Gross." Shinka shook her head, gaze narrowing on Yuuta. "It's going to take some getting used to you, Yuuta. I've gained a new respect for Rikka's love of doing this, honestly. Your mess isn't exactly the nicest stuff to deal with." She looked away at the bedcover. "But it's also really hot to think about and do, so..." She ran a hand through her hair, her voice lowering. "Yeah. I would do that again."

Yuuta blushed. "I don't mind returning the favour soon, Shinka. I think I might need to, sometimes. I don't have the ability to come inside you all as much as you might be expecting."

Shinka smiled at him. "It's fine. That just makes it better when I can do that, then." She crawled over to him, kissing him on the lips gently before murmuring in his ear. "You have a smart mouth, Yuuta. I'll enjoy shutting you up in the future."

Behind the three of them, Sanae was still catching her breath, her voice sounding tired as she spoke. "Thank you, my love," she began, her hair splayed out over the bed, her legs still spread apart and pushed up where Shinka had been cleaning her. "The heat of the Dark Flame Master was burning me inside." She shivered. "Nobody told me it would feel that intense…"

Nibutani looked back at Sanae, amused. "Didn't you like it?"

"I really did," Sanae pouted. "I think I came when I felt him… let go... inside me."

"That's the best part," Rikka nodded back. "At least, I like it."

Shinka subconsciously pressed her thighs together. "I guess that means he's come inside all three of us now," she said, wrapping her arms around her sides. "In fact, I think we've all been with each other now." She paused, not sure what to say. "Thanks, everyone? I'm really not sure what you say during this kind of thing."

Yuuta shrugged, his hand combing lazily through Rikka's blue hair. "Me neither. But it's been good, so far."

Sanae pulled her legs slowly back together, the muscles in her own thighs screaming, the fatigue from wrapping around Yuuta's hips and then Shinka's pressing insistence coming back to remind her how much she had done today. She gently sent a tentative hand down to check what kind of state she was between them. Her hand found a mess, the probing immediate warmth of her fingers reminding her of the lovers she'd been with. Dekomori pouted, hearing their conversation. "So far? I definitely need a rest..."

"A rest and a cuddle sounds pretty good," Shinka agreed, lying down by Sanae and kissing her on the forehead. "There's no rush to do more, right?"

Rikka nodded tiredly. "We can go again tomorrow, if everyone is happy." She blushed as a thought entered her head. "Yuuta is often keen to go first thing in the morning…"

Further embarrassment was saved by the fact that Rikka's stomach suddenly rumbled loudly. All of them suddenly realised that they hadn't eaten since lunchtime. Rikka looked around for Dekomori's clock, staring at it forlornly as it conveyed to her the time was past ten. Sanae groaned as the blue-haired chuuni relayed that fact aloud.

"It makes sense," Dekomori intoned, solemnly. "The only things to have entered our mouths in the last deathly hours could not be considered food…"

They pulled their pyjamas back on slowly. Yuuta teasingly complained again as he pulled Shinka's t-shirt over his head but didn't get into a real argument in favour of eating. Each of them found themselves casting lingering glances at each other as they covered back up again, even after having been naked with each other for a while.

Sanae's idea of cooking was nonexistent. Thus, at her insistence they made off with the things in her kitchen that would do at short notice and minimal effort, decamping to an empty dining room with various instant foods and drinks piled up on the table.

The four of them were a mess. Hair was splayed, limbs hurt, and the effort of at least three orgasms each today had sapped their energy. They sat in contented silence around the table as they ate, the odd looks, smiles and touches between them feeling natural, seeming to confirm how close they'd become.

Rikka poked her instant ramen with a chopstick, the steam rising lazily off it doing nothing to ward off her suspicious gaze. "Yuuta, this looks suspiciously red."

Yuuta reached over, pulling it up to check the printed side of the carton. "It doesn't seem to have tomatoes in it. But it might be a bit spicy." He pushed it back to her side of the table. "Rikka hates tomatoes," he felt compelled to explain, seeing the others' curious looks.

"As a dutiful servant of the Tyrant's Eye, I was already aware of this fact, Yuuta," Sanae replied.

"Don't be annoying," Shinka scowled, choosing not to look at Sanae in favour of looking at Rikka, interested. "How come you don't like tomatoes, Rikka?"

"I just don't like the taste," Rikka said.

Shinka snorted. "So you're okay with cleaning up after sex but _tomatoes_ are too much for you."

Rikka blushed like a tomato, her gaze returning downward to the paper cup. Shinka's face fell, her arm reaching out to touch Rikka's hand. Rikka looked back up again, slowly, her hand squeezing around Shinka's proffered fingers.

"Hey, I didn't mean to be condescending," Shinka said. "If we're going to do this… there's going to be a lot of the little things that we'll need to all share with each other now." She thought for a moment. "I hate dogs, for example. But you can't eat those."

Rikka interlocked her fingers with Shinka's. "Not in this country, at least."

Shinka's eyes widened, before she grinned back, leaving her hand there for Rikka to hold. Rikka launched into her food, showing remarkable ability at scooping up noodles left-handed.

Shinka stared, amused and impressed, rubbing her thumb idly over the blue-haired chuuni's hand.

Yuuta frowned. The cracker he was attempting to split in half broke up into fragments in his hand. "I hate dry crackers," he lamented. He then looked at his own ramen and shrugged before tipping the fragments in, mixing them into a watery grave.

Sanae began to copy his idea, adroitly snatching a cracker from the packet. "Well, I hate it when Shinka leaves our clothes on the floor," she said, happily mixing cracker pieces into her food. Shinka bristled. "I _do not_. I pick up _my_ clothes. It's not _my_ fault you're too lazy to look after yourself."

"Yuuta might be better trained in that regard," Dekomori smirked.

Yuuta shrugged. "It's nice to have dreams." He poked at his food, somewhat regretting how difficult picking up the noodles was with bits of cracker in between them. "But nothing's ever easy."

After some more pleasant minutes of easy, tired chat, their passable food was eaten and the four of them - no longer desperately hungry - trudged back to Sanae's bedroom; with their teeth brushed, hair tied, their group stood awkwardly in front of the bed, looking at each other, uncertain.

Sanae yawned, eyelids heavy, eyelashes dropping. "Time to sleep, deathly guests. The Infernal Palace of Night welcomes you all." She slumped onto the bed and crawled under the duvet, her cream-coloured pyjamas disappearing under the folds. The small girl immediately claimed the centre of the large bed. "Help yourselves…"

Rikka looked at the others, unsure who would make the first move. Shinka patted her on the shoulder. "After you, Rikka," she urged.

Rikka climbed into the bed, Sanae immediately latching onto her, arms thrown around the girl's back like a magnet. "Oof," Rikka reacted, Sanae's embrace not overly tight, but sudden.

Sanae pouted, eyes closed. "I hope you don't mind, Master…"

The bed was sufficiently soft that having Sanae's arm crooked under her side wouldn't impede Rikka's sleep—a fact that she felt might become relevant overnight. "It's fine, Deko. It feels nice." She tentatively put her own arms around Sanae and pulled some pillows under her head, getting comfortable. "Yeah, this is nice."

Shinka looked at Yuuta and shrugged. "Which side do you want?"

"I'll take Rikka's side," Yuuta said quickly, not sure if he had the energy left to survive the clutches of Sanae's aggressive sleep style.

Shinka gave him an amused smile. "Works for me."

The two of them crawled into the bed beside their respective partners, Shinka nestling behind Sanae, taking the chance to put her arms around Sanae for once, instead of the usual contrary arrangement. Sanae hummed gratefully as she felt Shinka's limbs crawl around her.

"We should do this more often," Sanae whispered.

"I'll say that for a lot of things that happened today," Shinka replied.

Yuuta climbed in tight behind Rikka, kissing his girlfriend on the neck. He eased in behind her for the night, pulling the duvet up over them all, ready for sleep. In front of him, Rikka's back was warm and soft, as usual. The bed was also comfortably warm, the body heat of the others appreciable, though the unusual smell of sweat and mixed passions was a firm and not entirely unpleasant reminder of what they now were. His chest felt warm as he thought about the others lying next to him.

 _At least we all fit in this bed_ , he lazily thought, allowing his thoughts to drift away, Rikka's hair tickling his face as he fell asleep.

To sleep...

* * *

Shinka stirred, her body twisting in the bed as she slowly raised herself back into the conscious world. Sanae crawled over to wake her with a kiss. She slowly opened her eyes as their lips touched, then wrinkled her face.

"Your mouth tastes like morning breath and dick."

"Good morning to you too, my love."

"Don't tell me you blew Togashi while I was asleep."

Sanae sat back on her haunches, fidgeting uncomfortably as she tried to think of something to say. "Master started it," the blonde girl eventually said. "And was doing so when I woke up. I was merely helping her until you were roused from slumber."

"And the very first thing you do is try to kiss me. _Very_ romantic."

"Don't be coy," Sanae frowned. "You enjoyed it."

"Shut up and kiss me again," Shinka muttered.

Sanae leaned in, Shinka's mouth lazily accepting her. After a bit more exchanging of saliva, Shinka pushed herself up in bed and looked to her side.

Rikka was busily wrapped around Yuuta with her mouth. Yuuta smiled weakly when he saw Shinka moving. "Hey," he offered.

"Don't smirk at me like that, Togashi," Shinka snapped playfully. "One single day since this started and you look like the cat that got the cream. I'd throw something at you if I thought it would help."

Rikka made a sound of distress at the turn the conversation had taken.

Yuuta put a hand on Rikka's head, chuckling.. "Well, _Rikka_ seems to be having fun."

Shinka eyed him sharply. "And _you're_ just saying that because she's making you feel good." Her eyes then fell on the blue-haired girl bobbing her head up and down over Yuuta's midsection. Shinka shook her head in mock disapproval. "I'm surprised you're even hard right now after yesterday and last night."

Yuuta put on his best pained smile. "I feel a little tender. Nothing too bad, though, thank you."

Rikka looked abruptly stopped and looked up at him, saliva dripping from her lips. "Does this pain you, Yuuta?"

Yuuta quickly shook his head, waving away her concern. "No no, it feels nice. If you want to keep going, you can. I'm just not sure if I'll be able to get off from this."

Rikka made an uncertain noise, seemingly conflicted at this. "Well… this is really fun… but," she rubbed her cheek, "my jaw is kinda starting to hurt." She then made a few decisive actions, as if to verify this unsatisfactory state of affairs.

Yuuta tilted his head slightly. "Are you OK?"

"I'll be fine," Rikka nodded. "I'm just not used to doing this." Her face turned pink. "I need to keep my mouth pretty wide open so my teeth don't scrape against you."

"Ah." Yuuta nodded, understanding. "It feels really good. Thanks, Rikka."

Shinka looked at Rikka, who was still rubbing her jaw. "Try chewing gum," she chimed in.

Rikka looked back at her, confused.

Shinka shrugged. "It's what helped Sanae practice."

Sanae seemed to be conflicted, her expression wavering between her usual proud smile and a face that belied severe embarrassment. "Just be glad my hair isn't tied in its usual weaponised configuration, Fake Summer." Sanae tossed her head and shook her loose blonde hair, for emphasis. "Revealing any more of my secrets will net you severe censure."

Shinka rolled her eyes. "Do you _not_ want Rikka to get better at giving head?"

Sanae stared in mild outrage for a moment before huddling up against her lover, the small girl shrinking into Shinka's arms. "I'll allow it," she grumbled. "But just for this instance."

"You're so petulant with that mouth of yours, my love," Shinka teased. "But honestly, right now, I'm thinking of several better uses for it."

Sanae looked up defiantly at Shinka. "Wouldn't my morning breath be an issue?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Shinka grinned. "I'd be more than happy to brush your teeth," she said silkily.

Sanae's face turned beet red at those words. Yuuta and Rikka made sounds of confusion.

Shinka smirked at the pair and got out of bed, ushering Sanae to the bathroom. "Stand up, love birds. I have something I want to show you."

Clothes discarded and thrown to a corner, Shinka guided Sanae to a small chair in the bathroom, Yuuta and Rikka following shortly behind. Sanae sat there timidly whilst Shinka pulled out a toothbrush and glass from the sink.

"Yuuta. Set up the bath while I'm doing this. I feel sweaty and gross and need to clean the smell of cum out of my hair."

Yuuta winced involuntarily and began doing as Shinka said, Rikka moving to help him. As the tap began to run, they turned to Shinka, unsure.

"Uh, Nibutani… What are you planning?" Yuuta asked.

"Ever wonder why kissing with tongue feels so hot?" Shinka asked, positioning herself to Sanae's side, leaning the blonde back onto her lap. "It's because it's someone else's tongue moving around in your mouth. This is the same principle except with a toothbrush."

Yuuta stared apprehensively at Sanae who seemed uncharacteristically quiet and docile.

"She's developed something of a fetish for this," Shinka said with a sly smile, squeezing toothpaste slowly onto the brush.

Sanae opened her mouth, as if she was about to protest, but Shinka put the brush in before a word could be said.

The results were immediate. A shiver from head to toe ran through Sanae's body the moment the bristles hit her teeth. It was clear she was struggling not to react too violently. Yuuta's subsiding erection quickly returned as Sanae squirmed and squeaked while Shinka brushed. Beside him, Rikka rubbed her thighs uncomfortably, already reaching down to scratch an itch that had suddenly built up. What Shinka was doing to Sanae was… bafflingly arousing.

"How does it feel to be watched while I do this to you," Shinka whispered seductively to Sanae, just loud enough that Yuuta and Rikka could also hear it.

Sanae's shoulders rubbed against Shinka's lap and her legs slid across the floor, deliciously cute noises coming out of her mouth. It was as if Shinka was a musician, every brush stroke producing a shrill note from the instrument she was playing. Sanae stared deliriously up at Shinka, eyes glossy with pleasure.

"You like this don't you?" Shinka went on. "Don't you?" she repeated, looking up and making eye contact with Yuuta and Rikka.

Rikka was leaning forward as she stared, one hand rubbing her lower lips furiously, the other groping her breast. Yuuta, ever the gentleman, held Rikka's shoulders, keeping her upright, even as he touched himself in the same way, his hand wet from Rikka's earlier efforts. The looks on their faces were flushed and oh-so-satisfyingly lewd.

Shinka's smile grew wider and more sly. She gestured for the other two to come forward. "Get up, love birds. We're pampering a certain blonde dork today."

Sanae's eyes immediately went wide at this statement—wider when Rikka pushed her legs open. Her gaze swung to her side where Yuuta had taken a seat, opposite Shinka. His face hovered over her chest, the hungry way he licked his lips making her wet.

Shinka patted Sanae's cheek playfully. "Look at her face," she cooed. "She's so excited. Don't keep her waiting."

That was all the signal Yuuta and Rikka needed. They both set their mouths to work, immediately overwhelming Sanae with stimulation.

Sanae's thoughts were pushed aside as warm wet sounds and warmer and wetter sensations threatened to push her over the edge faster than she'd ever experienced before. Rikka's fingers and lips put an insurmountable pressure in her core, almost ready to burst. Yuuta's tongue glided over her skin, leaving a cold trail that gave her goosebumps. The toothbrush in her mouth sent waves of pleasurable vibrations through her skull. These sensations were all she was aware of—that, and Shinka's sultry voice whispering sweet nothings directly in her ear. Everything else faded away. There was nothing else. Only pleasure.

Sanae bit down hard on the toothbrush as the stimulation became too much, her climax coming quickly over her, the focus of attention unable to bear it any longer. It was too much. Dekomori let out a shrill scream and came with blinding intensity, her shoulders and limbs lolling as the tension released in her suddenly and pleasurably.

"You were marvelous, my little warrior." Shinka giggled, playing with Sanae's hair as the blonde lay panting on her lap, eyes cloudy and dazed. She then looked up and addressed her other lovers. "You can go ahead and take a shower first, Rikka, Yuuta. We'll join you once the love of my life here recovers."

Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "Join us?"

Shinka looked at him, her face dryly amused. "Do I honestly need to spell it out for you?"

Yuuta smirked in the way he always did when he was about to make a witty reply but, before he could do so, Rikka grabbed his rear and started pushing him towards the shower.

"Yuuta, I require immediate sexual attention," she stated urgently. Yuuta did not get to reply and was quickly ushered to Sanae's shower. Shinka suppressed a hearty laugh. Based on the lines of fluid running down her leg, Rikka was literally dripping wet. Just as well, too. Yuuta didn't look much better—he was particularly swollen.

It took five minutes of head pats and loving whispers before Sanae was able to finally stand again.

"I'm assuming my master is currently performing the lovers' ritual with Yuuta?" Sanae mumbled as Shinka helped her walk to the showers.

"I'd be surprised if they _weren't_ having sex right now," Shinka replied smugly. "You were _quite_ the spectacle."

Sanae managed a small smile and a blush. "Thank you…"

Their assumption was confirmed when they approached the shower and heard the sound of running water, hips slapping against each other, and the mixed grunts and moans of Rikka and Yuuta. Rikka's breasts and face were pressed up against the foggy glass, her skin made pale by the pressure against it. The blurry figure of Yuuta was taking her from behind rather aggressively. Shinka licked her lips at what they were about to walk into, the glass of the shower doing nothing to contain the delicious sounds coming from within.

Sanae fidgeted. "I don't think I can handle another go so soon."

Shinka smiled at her. "You can just watch if you want." Shinka kissed her cheek and whispered sultry in her ear. "In fact, I want you to." She opened the door to the shower and they both entered in a gout of steam.

"Yuuta!" Rikka yelled, as Yuuta began pumping in earnest. He moaned huskily as he came inside her for the first time that morning. Rikka moaned just as loudly, the hot sensation of his pleasure meeting with her own approval.

Shinka clicked her tongue in disappointment. She had only caught the tail end of it.

Yuuta slumped down, his legs collapsing under him. He strained to catch a breath, hot water streaming down his face. Shinka crouched down in front of him, letting the water cascade soothingly from her shoulders down her back. Her expression was pleased as she leaned in and whispered, "Did you climax because we entered and saw you?"

Yuuta didn't make eye contact but nodded, face flushed, chest heaving.

Rikka was still leaning against the shower wall, semen dripping out of her slit. "Yuuta, that felt amazing," she said, turning to face the others. Her face was red, her cheeks broadly flushed. "But I need more…"

Yuuta groaned. "How can you girls have this much stamina?"

Sanae giggled, taking a seat next to him. "To be fair, you've been rotating between the three of us all night," Sanae said, taking his hand. "It is much harder for a man to satisfy a woman and you've been managing that splendidly."

Yuuta smiled wryly as Sanae leaned on his shoulder, her wet hair tickling his arm. "Thanks for the compliment. I aim to please."

As their exchange took place, Shinka went on her knees and began sucking the cum out of Rikka. Unstifled moans echoed through the room as Rikka desperately pushed herself into Shinka's face.

Sanae narrowed her eyes. "I bet she doesn't brush her teeth before she wants to kiss," she grumbled jokingly to Yuuta.

Shinka pulled away, the incessant noise of the shower not loud enough to cover up Sanae's trouble. "You know you liked it," Shinka said. It seemed like she was about to follow up with another teasing jab, but Rikka dug her fingers through Shinka's wet hair and pulled the taller girl's head back into a kiss with her lower lips.

"She's so needy, isn't she?" Yuuta quipped with a chuckle. He then noticed Sanae squirming next to him. "What's up?"

"Just have an idea. Could you hold me steady like you did with Master earlier?"

Yuuta raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't protest. Sanae nodded and leaned towards Shinka, spreading her lover's legs open and starting to gently lick.

Shinka, meanwhile, worked on the blue-haired chuuni, one hand holding the girl open as the semen inside her dripped out into Shinka's mouth. Once Shinka felt she had got the best part of it, she stood up, kissing Rikka and pushing her fingers around Rikka's clit. Yuuta helped Sanae up as Shinka stood, Sanae trying desperately not to lose contact with her lover. Rikka's lips were forced wide open as Shinka locked hers around her, Shinka's tongue funneling the cum into Rikka's wet and ready mouth. Rikka's whole body shuddered as realised what Shinka was doing; as she felt Shinka push it into her and the salty taste hit her tongue, she moaned loudly, the sound completely muffled by the other girl's tongue. Shinka dominated Rikka's mouth as she quickly fingered her, Nibutani's tongue covering every part of Rikka's with the thick fluid that had been inside her moments earlier.

Yuuta's eyes were wide as he watched Rikka's composure completely melt, the girl's knees buckling as Shinka swapped his cum with her, the smaller girl loudly coming again. Shinka's stimulation had been very thorough. Yuuta's face burned, and not from the heat of the shower.

"God, that's hot", he panted.

Shinka didn't respond immediately, her tongue busy at the back of Rikka's throat. Once she felt Rikka reflexively swallow, she slowly broke their kiss, looking back at Yuuta and winking. "You're not the only one who likes that."

Yuuta felt lightheaded. "If you like my cum so much, I'm doing that straight down your throat later."

It was Shinka's turn to moan now, as she felt Sanae's tongue bringing her close, the kiss with Rikka and now Yuuta's dirty talk getting her close. "Oh, fuck, Sanae, yes," she breathed, leaning on the already unstable Rikka for support, as Yuuta held Sanae's shoulders still, the blonde girl assiduously eating out Shinka from behind. "God, Yuuta, that sounds like something I would watch, let alone do." Rikka gently kissed Shinka's neck as she came down from her own orgasm, her face burning at the others' words, too.

Rikka decided to twist the knife. "Which would you rather, Shinka," she asked between kisses on her wet neck, the cascading water pooling where Rikka's lips made contact with her flesh. "Do you want it yourself? Or would you rather watch him fuck one of us like that?" Shinka gasped. "Cause the way it sounds, there isn't going to be any cum left over for you to suck out if he does that."

"Oh, G-god," Shinka whined, her body convulsing as the orgasm ripped at her, Sanae's hands hooked around the front of her firm thighs, the warm water still running down and coating them all adding a delicious extra sensation to her climax. "Fuuuuuuuck," she whined, her legs desperately opening, Sanae pushing her face further forward to suck Shinka's clit as she came, a finger slipping up and inside her as she did so. Sanae hummed in assent as she felt Shinka's slick insides clamping down around her fingers, the climax passing through her. Shinka's hand shot out to the wall of the shower, palm blind against it by Rikka's face, her weight forward so that she wouldn't fall over.

Sanae began to kiss the back of Shinka's thighs as Shinka panted desperately after the throes of orgasm. "Ah," she panted, "thank you..."

None of them spoke for a minute, the three of them getting their breath back, with Sanae content to kiss her way gently down Shinka's wet legs, eliciting goosebumps as she moved her mint-flavoured lips slowly up and down her lover's skin. The only noises were the shower, their breathing, and the distant sound of the bath filling.

"Ah, damn, the bath," Shinka panted, her breath at least allowing her to speak. Yuuta stood up unsteadily, water falling off him as his legs straightened. "I'll go check it," he said, tired.

Yuuta stepped quickly out of the shower, finding a bath that looked pleasantly full, though after the four of them got into it, it was probably in danger of overflowing. He turned off the tap and drained some of the water, before returning to the shower, finding the three girls in the midst of doling out soap and washing themselves. Rikka thrust the soap into his hands. "Here, Yuuta," she smiled.

Yuuta pouted. "Don't we get to clean each other?"

Rikka shook her head. "I can barely stand up," she said.

Shinka rubbed shampoo through her long brown hair, the suds filling up the shower pan, trailing lazily away down the plughole. "We can relax in the bath," she said, spitting out water that tasted of shampoo. "Just clean off first."

Yuuta shrugged and started using the soap. "Alright."

Some minutes later, they had all employed the shower sufficiently to get clean, somewhat eventually as it might have been. Sanae put her hand in the double-wide bath, testing the water. "Yeah, it's fine," she announced, quickly climbing in and motioning for the others to follow her.

The three others slowly eased themself into the bath, Rikka going first, filling up one end of it, sitting side by side with Sanae in the pleasantly warm water. Yuuta and Shinka took the other end. The bath wasn't quite sufficiently long enough to stretch out; Yuuta quickly found Sanae's legs in his lap. She prodded his thighs with her toes, smiling devilishly. He rolled his eyes. "Please," he said.

Sanae pouted, slowing her feet. "Fine..."

Shinka had acquiesced the middle of the bathtub to Rikka, instead choosing to draw her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Yuuta looked at the girl next to him, concerned. He hesitated, before touching her shoulder gently. Shinka looked at him, her face resting on her forearm, her expression not betraying her thoughts.

"Are... are you okay?" he asked.

Shinka's brown eyes stared into his for some seconds, before she blinked and looked down at the water, small ripples running across the surface as the four of them moved subtly under it. Rikka and Sanae looked at Shinka, and then at each other, not sure how to respond.

"I'm fine, I guess," she started. "I just learned some things about myself yesterday. And today. And..."

Yuuta gently pried her hand from its drawn-up position around her knees, taking her hand in his. His fingers intertwined with hers, holding hands under the water. His thumb rubbed the back of her hand gently. Shinka shivered and looked away, but didn't pull her hand back from his. At the other end of the bath Sanae moved up to sit next to Shinka, placing herself awkwardly in the centre with her legs arched over Yuuta's.

"You're not allowed to mope in my house, Shinka," Sanae muttered, mock-threatening. Shinka looked at her and gave her a weak smile, running her free hand through her wet hair as she thought about what to say, uncomfortably aware that everyone was looking at her. "You trust us, right?" Rikka asked, her voice soft, trying to make her teal eyes look warm. "Let us help."

Shinka shook her head. "Do I? I learned that apparently I didn't need much excuse to sleep with all of you." She looked down at the water as her face burned in shame. "I sincerely hope we have trust, Rikka, cause the alternative doesn't fill me with much confidence."

Yuuta looked uncertainly at her. "We've known each other for years, Shinka. Trust should be a given." He paused. "Shouldn't it?"

"We've known each other for years, Togashi," Shinka grimaced. "And it all comes crashing down in a day as we all descend into collective madness. I'm not sure 'givens' apply."

He frowned. "'Crashing down'? Aren't we friends all of a sudden?"

Shinka's lip trembled. "It's like I said to you on the platform, yesterday. I don't know what we are to each other any more."

Yuuta recalled their conversation. "Is that why you're unsure? Because 'friends don't do this kind of thing'-"

"Of course they fucking don't!" Shinka cried loudly, her eyes creasing as they filled with desperate tears, her frustration manifesting in a wet trail on her cheek. "I fucking know friends don't do this kind of thing! And I want you to be my friends! You all mean a lot to me! I'm sick of chasing a normal life and being kicked back into the dirt at every damn attempt! I work for years to find some semblance of normality in my life and what is the damn point of any of it-"

Shinka bit back a choking sob, as the sorrow hit the top part of her throat, tears dripping into the bath, lost in the water that surrounded them all. Sanae did the same, her own face quelling with sympathy for her love, throwing herself at Shinka's guarded form, pushing away her knees to wrap her arms around the bigger girl.

"Shhh," Sanae hushed in her ear, Shinka weakly trying to pull away, the blonde girl's form tight around her not letting go, until Shinka gave up and allowed the embrace, pulling her hand out from Yuuta's to wrap around Sanae. Tears fell down her cheek into Sanae's hair.

Rikka pulled her legs up, not sure how to react, her own eyes stinging with empathy. Yuuta moved to her as they both blinked back the cordite taste of sympathetic sorrow. The four of them stayed like that for some minutes, as they tried to compose themselves, Shinka's hitching sobs slowing as Sanae comforted her.

Shinka wiped desperately at her eyes. "Ugh, thanks, you," she whispered, sniffing.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Sanae asked, gently talking to her chest, once it had ceased heaving with sobs.

Shinka blinked back more tears. "Always," she said, simply.

Sanae took a moment to start speaking, her voice gentle, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "We wasted so much time fighting because we were worried about what others thought. And then once we dared to be honest, weren't we happier? Why are you doing the same now? Why are you putting up a fight just to make yourself look better for something you *want*? For god's sake, Shinka, let your ego go. It makes you miserable. And none of us here want that."

Shinka considered her words. "It's easy for you. You don't care at all what others think-"

Sanae wrenched Shinka's head around to look at her with her hands, Sanae's expression furiously bitter, her eyes bright, flaring with desperate care.

"You know that isn't true," Sanae choked. "I care what _you_ think. Please, Shinka. Stop. Stop making excuses. Look at what you want and start going for it instead of letting others' opinions make you miserable."

Shinka closed her eyes, her tears now warmer than the bathwater, which was growing cold. "It's so easy to say," she whispered, her voice fast lest it break, her eyes shut lest she sob again. "So easy to say and hard to do. So hard to-"

Sanae put a finger on Shinka's lips, cutting off her words. Sanae smiled at her weakly, enjoying the warm feeling of Shinka's lips against her finger, even in this situation. "You've already done the doing part, my love," Sanae urged. "Look at us all here in the bath with you. You've already done the hard part. We've all opened up to each other and we're all still here. Do you think that'd be the case if we didn't care about you?"

Shinka shook her head, bitterly. "No," she managed weakly.

Yuuta coughed, the saliva in his throat thick, attempting to gain some composure to speak. "You are looking at it the wrong way, Shinka," he said, gentle. "This wasn't about sex. It was about feelings. I mean, yeah, it started with those dumb videos. But they would never have come about if we didn't all want to get to this point. If we weren't ready for this kind of closeness."

Rikka nodded. "I would not have permitted such congress between ourselves if I didn't consent to you, Nibutani," she said, her cheeks pink. "My contract partner speaks correctly. I-" Rikka stopped, chewing the words. "I eschewed the blessings of the Tyrant's Eye yesterday and today; this was not something done lightly."

Shinka blinked. She hadn't seen Rikka's dumb contact lens in her eye, that was true. Rikka looked Nibutani in the eyes, her own teal ones free of fear, boring into Shinka's like intense points of light. Shinka stared back.

"I do this because I want you to see the real me," Rikka finished, never looking away. "The real me that thinks you are very cool... and that realised that I care very much for you."

Shinka's heart filled with trepidation, the kind of shaking nerve that only comes with the intense realisation of love. Her chest felt warm. She allowed her guard to finally break. "Thanks, Rikka," she said quietly. "I… I really do feel just the same. For you. For all of you. I'm just being a jerk, as usual."

She finally managed a wan smile, raising herself in the bath as she looked over at Yuuta. "Oh, come on then, Togashi. I bet you're _dying_ to confess to me if Rikka beat you to the punch," she sniffed.

Yuuta smiled. "It's like I told you yesterday. I've always liked you. If we take this step together, nothing about that changes. Please, Shinka Nibutani," he urged. "Please return my feelings as well!"

Shinka smiled. "That was so cliché, it hurts. Yeah, I can do that." She looked at Sanae. "Are you alright with this, too?"

Sanae flashed her eyebrows. "My Master and I are very close, now. And I've seen how the Dark Flame Master treats her and you. How can I not return those feelings to him, also?" The blonde smiled wickedly. "I know your ego, Shinka Nibutani. You'll always be my first. Always. That never changes, when we do this. Don't let your ego push the others away."

Shinka reached into the water and pulled up a handful of the tepid water, splashing her face in a vain attempt to remedy the tears.

"Alright," she said to the three of them, working her eyes between thumb and forefinger. "Alright, alright, alright. I'm a jerk, and I'm difficult, and I'm too proud to admit anything, but I'll admit this: normal life can go swing if it means I can be with all of you."

Shinka pulled herself up, standing up in the bath, running a hand over her face, pulling at her cheekbones. "It's too cold for me in here now," she said, shivering. "If you come dry off and join me in bed, I promise there'll be a less difficult Shinka in there. One that really does want to sleep with you." She glared at Yuuta through her tired eyes. "And that means, just sleep. Or at least nap. I'm exhausted."

As she stepped out of the bath, she heard Yuuta muttering. "And to think we just woke up an hour ago."

Shinka smiled quietly as she walked away. It was good that they could still joke after that. It was comforting. _They were comforting._

She pulled a towel off the towel rack, the warm white cotton in her hands feeling like heaven. "I'm going to dry myself in the room and pick up all your clothes," she said. "Just give me a moment to compose myself again, okay?"

"Okay, my love," Sanae assented. "Could you put them by the door? I wouldn't want them to get wet in here." Shinka nodded and left the room, leaving the three others behind.

Yuuta looked uncertainly at Sanae. "Will she really be okay?"

Sanae shook her head. "No longer am I the exclusive or authority on Shinka Nibutani. It's down to all of us now to make her happy." She paused. "But from what I've seen, I think she'll be alright."

Yuuta sighed. "Good." He rummaged the towel in his hair, the white cotton wicking away the water. "Who wants to nap with whom, then?"

Sanae blushed. "Could I... could I sleep with you, Yuuta?"

Yuuta was slightly taken aback. "Am I really your first choice?" he smiled.

"Yeah," said Sanae. "For this deathly morning, anyway."

"Sure, then," Yuuta said.

The three of them dried off, Rikka helping Sanae dry off her hair without getting it too tangled, brushing it between applications of the towel. Yuuta left them to it and went back into the room, stepping quietly out of the bathroom and pulling the door closed. His foot found the pile of their clothes that Shinka had neatly folded. He leant down, rescuing the t-shirt and underwear he had been wearing and gave them a tentative smell test. They would just about do, at least for being in bed. He pulled them on.

Shinka was sat on the bed, facing away from him, her own clothes back on now, the blue fabric spread across her raised shoulders. The girl was running a brush through her hair, loosely collating the cascading strands with a pink hairtie, the noise of the hairbrush ends travelling through her hair seeming quite comfortable to Yuuta.

Yuuta watched as she put the hairbrush down on the bed, moving behind her and gently kissing her on the neck. Shinka's shoulders arched for a moment, then relaxed, and fell again, Shinka sighing as she felt him behind her.

"Damn you," she sighed, not turning around. Yuuta put his forehead against the nape of her neck as his arms slipped around her in a hug. Shinka smelled like the soap from the shower. She lightly touched his arms once they were around her, her soft fingertips making a delicate tracery of his forearm, as she was content to be quiet for a moment, no further words needed. They sat like that for a moment.

"Quit locking yourself away, Shinka," Yuuta eventually said, his voice muted.

Shinka shivered. "I promised I would, right," she said.

"You promised you would and then immediately walked away," Yuuta said. "I can't pressure you to change, or to have all the answers now. I wouldn't expect you to. But come with us on the direction of travel."

Shinka squeezed his hands, her cheeks warm. "I will. I promise." She playfully tipped her head back, ponytailed hair falling into Yuuta's eyes. He pulled his head back quickly.

"Ah! Thanks a lot, Nibutani," he scowled.

Shinka turned around on her knees, taking Yuuta's hand before she threw herself back on the bed, pulling him back with her, as she pushed aside the duvet. "Come here, jerk," she said, not unkindly. "We can at least cuddle properly whilst we wait for those two."

Shinka pressed into his back this time, kissing his neck as they lay there, hands flung happily around his chest. She let out a contented sigh, all her previous worries from the bath feeling like they were disappearing.

Yuuta suddenly felt Shinka stiffen up behind him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Shinka had just caught sight of the clock. "We should have been at school two hours ago..."

Yuuta groaned. "Oh, shit."

"We are in so much trouble," Shinka laughed. "It's too funny. I flip out on you all because I'm sick of it all going wrong and we just make more trouble for ourselves. You're all right; I'm giving up."

The other two emerged from the bathroom, both looking confused as they saw Shinka laughing and Yuuta covering his face. "What's going on?" Sanae asked, pulling the door closed.

"Oh, nothing," Shinka giggled. "We've just apparently blown off school for the day."

The two girls at the doorway blanched, the realisation in her spoken words that it was Saturday very unwelcome. "Ah," Rikka reacted, her hair twitching, trying to find words to mitigate the sinking feeling in her stomach. "That's bad."

Yuuta rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. He turned his head back toward the girls as he ran out of air. "Let's stay here and say we got sick," he groaned. "That should work for a day, right? Two? Maybe into next week?"

Sanae shook her head. "I doubt it. My parents will be back tonight, possibly. On the plus side, we've got at least six hours left together in bed before that happens. If they come back, our interactions with them would be only need be brief. We could stay here all weekend if we wished."

A heavy sigh passed Yuuta's lips. "Finding time to be with each other like this is going to be hard," he said, sitting up so he could address everyone. "Well, at least hard to do it as much as we might want. We can't just brush off our families to sleep together, here, all the time. Maybe Sanae and Rikka could, but you and I aren't so lucky, Shinka."

Rikka hummed. "For now, let's not waste the afternoon, then…"

She moved, holding open the bedcover and waiting for Sanae to climb in, the blonde girl realising she was needed with a start, her hair trailing behind as she jumped into the bed. She manoeuvred herself, sitting on Yuuta, pressing her forehead to his and kissing him on the lips. Rikka nodded, remembering their agreed pairing, and walked around to Shinka's side of the bed, pulling the cover closed around them once she was next to her.

"Hmf," Shinka pouted. "I was enjoying your boyfriend. But you're even better, Rikka."

Rikka pulled herself into the bigger girl, her arms balling up Shinka's pyjama top. "He's yours now as well, I guess. And I'm yours too..." She touched her lips, as if she hadn't expected the words she had said. "I'm yours too," Rikka reaffirmed.

Sanae's lips pulled reluctantly away from Yuuta's, who frowned, his face turning pink again. "I thought we were just going to sleep," he said. "Sanae, I really want you, but I need a rest some of the time, too."

Sanae looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry. I just… Fake Summer and I kiss a lot."

Yuuta squeezed her hand. "Hey, it's fine, don't apologise. I like doing it with you, too. If you come sleep with me for a bit whilst we recover, you and I can do some more later on. How does that sound?"

Shinka smiled, Rikka in her arms. "Careful there, lover boy. You don't realise what you're letting yourself in for. Once she's in the mood… Well, I hope you enjoyed being able to talk."

Sanae smirked, consenting to this arrangement by climbing off Yuuta and clamping her hands around his waist. He winced, feeling Sanae's forceful hug knock the wind out of him. "How can someone so small grip so tight…" he breathed.

Sanae loosened her arms, a little. "It's a sign of deathly affection, Dark Flame Master. You should be grateful one such as I chooses to bequeath this gift onto someone so… cute."

Yuuta nodded, taking a few deep breaths as his assailant lay her head on his chest. "Okay," he breathed, "just try not to smother me whilst we nap. If we're all making an effort to be together, I don't want to not wake up later to enjoy it."

The four of them lay there for a while, their proximity radiating warmth into each other, their minds pleasantly focusing on little except being close.

Rikka shifted, getting comfortable. "Are we really doing this, then," she quietly asked.

"Yes," the other three assented. Their replies weren't quite a chorus, but it was close.

The blue-haired girl smiled, satisfied, as she heard their agreement. "I'm glad."

And then, it was nap-time. Kumin would have been proud of them.


	6. Chapter 6

They napped for an hour, lightly sleeping in each other's embrace, the unfamiliar arms of their new partners slowly becoming somewhat less so. Dekomori had lessened her death clamp around Yuuta's midsection as she rested, her blonde hair falling cutely around a face that looked completely innocent of all wrongdoing.

Rikka was the first to stir after a time, snuggling her shoulders back warmly into Shinka's cuddle. _This feels really nice._ She wanted to turn around, to kiss Shinka awake like Sanae had earlier - but she was too comfortable. Nibutani's warm body was pressed into her back, the swell of her chest pressing into Rikka's shoulders softly and warmly, her arms wrapped loosely around Rikka's stomach. _I don't want to move,_ Rikka thought to herself. _It's so different to cuddling with Yuuta. Shinka is a lot softer._

Rikka slowly dragged her fingertips down along the arm wrapped around her, marvelling at Shinka's feather-soft skin under her fingers. She took Nibutani's hand lightly in hers, cautiously pushing up her pyjamas with the other, pressing her sleep-partner's hand against the bare flesh of her stomach. It was hot against her midriff, Shinka's palm radiating heat. Rikka shut her eyes, focusing on the warm and pleasurable skin-to-skin contact.

Shinka stirred awake behind her. "You feel nice, Rikka," Shinka whispered, her breath tickling the nape of Rikka's neck.

Rikka flinched slightly, caught off guard. "S-Sorry," she whispered back. "I just wanted to feel you more..."

She felt Shinka lean in, the girl behind her smiling unseen as she kissed the top of Rikka's head. "It's okay. Here, I have another idea."

Shinka shuffled slightly closer into Rikka, slipping both hands now under Rikka's loaned pyjama top, gently rubbing the girl in her arms over the stomach, sides, and hips. Rikka shivered at the deliciously warm skin contact.

"Mmmm," Rikka hummed in pleasure, her lips gently parted and face slightly pink at Shinka's initiative. "That's what I wanted..."

Shinka smiled. "You're really soft, Rikka. And touching you like this is my pleasure, too." It was true; Shinka had a small, dreamy smile on her face as she ran her hands over the smaller girl, enjoying the bonding between them as she explored Rikka's body in a less sexual way.

Rikka began to fidget. "Can I turn around? I want to do this for you, too."

"Sure," Shinka replied. "So long as your hands aren't cold!"

Rikka twisted in Shinka's loose grasp, the hands on her waist drawing a semicircle around her as she turned around. Quickly enough she faced Shinka directly, matching Shinka's pleased expression.

"I really like this," Rikka said. "Here... wait. I want you to pull my hands in..."

Shinka gently did so, placing Rikka's hands on her own waist, before placing hers back on Rikka's. The two girls lay like that for a while, hands moving comfortably on each other, watching each other's pleased reactions, their hands enjoying the soft sensations.

Nibutani moved her hand up to Rikka's cheek, the girl's expression joyous under her fingers, her eyes shining. Shinka hesitantly moved her head forward, pausing before kissing Rikka. Rikka saw what she was doing and smiled even wider. "What are you doing, Shinka? You… you can kiss me whenever you want..."

Shinka bit her lip. "It's more romantic if I hesitate, right?"

Rikka shook her head. "Please, kiss me," she whispered.

Nibutani gently moved her head towards Rikka, placing her lips slowly against hers. The smaller girl arching her neck as their lips touched, Rikka's eyes closing softly and her mouth falling barely open as they kissed chastely.

Shinka pulled away after a few seconds. "Wow..."

Rikka's eyes opened a little, looking back at her. "Again," she murmured, her cheeks hot.

Her partner slowly moved back in and delivered another light kiss, their lips lingering together, the warmth of their wet lips bleeding into each other.

Shinka pulled back, blinking. "Rikka, I..."

Rikka's eyes glowed softly as she looked at Shinka, her tongue touching her lips slowly where they had kissed, a hand stealing up to where Shinka's was on her face. "Again."

Shinka moved in again, their lips pressing liquidly together again, Rikka's parted lips around her own, their kiss languid and gentle. It went longer this time, the two girls content just to do this for a little time, their light breathing tickling each other's face. Shinka's ears pounded, her chest feeling light. She didn't want to pull away, but had to in order to speak, her own lips parted in desire as she pulled a fraction away to get out her words.

"Ah," Shinka breathed, her head light. "Is this..."

"Yeah, I feel it too," Rikka smiled.

This time Rikka gently kissed Shinka, her head darting forwards, their hands moving chastely over each other once more. Shinka pulled back, her forehead to Rikka's, her face pink, a vibrant smile on her face. Her eyes shone as she stared longingly at Rikka, the feelings between them not needing any words.

Beside them, Sanae stirred sleepily, her eyes easing open, looking up and around slowly at the others. "Ugh," she rubbed her face, drowsy. "I'm not used to waking up and seeing you all in my bed, yet. Are you having fun there, my love?"

Shinka kissed Rikka gently, and finally, on the forehead, eyes looking past Rikka's shoulder at the newly-awake Sanae. "Not so much fun," Shinka offered. "We were just being close." She was met with a scowl. "Don't look at me until I've woken up properly," Sanae griped, hand still rubbing her face.

"Why? Afraid I might see something I like?" quipped Shinka.

"Hmf," Sanae grumbled, "this bed is full of things." She rolled over, seeing Yuuta still asleep, now a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs. She kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Wake up, Yuuta."

The boy slowly opened his eyes, shaking his head as Sanae pulled him out of nap and he could feel his face and body once again. He groaned, rolling away into an unoccupied space in bed, burying his face in a pillow. "Hf lng r e azeep," he muttered.

Sanae poked him in the back. "Speak Japanese, idiot."

Yuuta cleared the pillow out of his mouth. "How long were we asleep?"

"About an hour," she responded, hand between his shoulder blades.

"Not long enough," he grumbled, lowering his face back into the pillow.

Shinka smiled wryly, watching his face disappear. "Wake up, lover boy. You don't want to be left out whilst we all cuddle without you."

Rikka reluctantly disengaged from the cuddling session, crawling over to the truculent Yuuta. She laid a hand on his back; her palm was warm. "Yuuta, if you get up, I wanted to... Would it be okay if we all... touch each other?"

Yuuta twisted his neck, looking up at her uncertainly. "What do you mean?"

"Under the covers," Rikka continued. "Like, closer than sleeping. I want to be close with all of you. I thought it might be nice if we all.." She smiled, a hand rubbing her neck. "If we all got naked and touched each other. Not in a sexual way. Just to be close."

"Rikka and I were doing it before you two woke up," Nibutani explained. "Well, with clothes on. It'll probably be better without."

Yuuta smiled. "It sounds intimate."

"Does it involve kissing?" Sanae pouted, her lips stuck out petulantly. "I wanted to kiss some more…"

Rikka said nothing in response. Instead she gently took hold of her servant's face, placing the same kind of chaste kiss she had shared with Nibutani on Sanae's lips, their mouths meeting liquidly.

Sanae's eyelids dropped, Rikka's immensely tender look and gesture driving home the point, and she shivered as Rikka slowly pulled away after a few moments, their eyes connected.

Sanae's eyes searched Rikka's face, her expression wondering, her face instantly pink. "H-hah," she breathed indignantly, "W-What was that..."

"That's you realising how awesome Rikka really is," Yuuta joked. He had liked watching. "I'm glad to see we're all close like this. It's starting to feel less weird and more - well, I don't quite know how to describe it yet, but it feels good, even if I don't have the words."

Rikka nodded. "Yeah. I feel really close to all three of you." She looked at Sanae, the blonde girl touching her lips. "If we touch under the covers, that would be even closer… You can kiss Yuuta some more whilst we do it, Deko."

Dekomori nodded, her face lighting up in satisfaction. "I'm deathly convinced, then. Say no more, Master."

Yuuta hurried to interject. "I don't get a choice in this?"

"Nope," Sanae grinned, tugging on his hand in a vain effort to pull him up in bed.

"I guess if I _must,_ " Yuuta complained, theatrically. "It doesn't sound entirely awful." He sighed, taking Sanae's hand and pulling himself up. "We haven't done too well at undressing romantically today, have we? Let's try and change that."

Sanae pounced on him, throwing herself hastily into his lap, pulling his arms around her. "Alright, Yuuta. You may undress me when you are ready."

He rolled his eyes. "I'd be pleased to," he said, placing his hands on top of her shoulders, beginning to rub her neck slowly.

Rikka eyes were warm as she watched them touch. "You two undress whilst I deal with Shinka," she suggested, turning to the girl lying on the bed, who had been watching all of this, quite pleased. Shinka happily pulled Rikka back into their cuddle, and their hands were back on each other quickly.

Sanae hummed, pleased with Yuuta's course of action, allowing him to continue for a few moments, before she leant back against his chest. "This feels good," she quietly admitted. "Not that my master would ever come up with bad ideas…"

Rikka had eased Shinka's top off after her own, and was now pressing herself fervently against the other girl's newly-bare skin. The two of them resumed their gentle kiss as they lay touching, hands stealing each others' breath. Yuuta and Sanae watched them, Yuuta's hands running up and down Sanae's side, her pale skin soft and warm, one hand slowly unbuttoning the front of her silk pyjamas.

In short order the rest of their clothes came off for the second time today, this time with more care and co-ordination than their unceremonious stripping earlier in the day. Their eyes ran over each other as they undressed.

Yuuta slipped under the duvet cover, Sanae following him and lying on his chest, their hands moving over each other slowly, following Rikka's lead as the other two lay next to them.

Sanae kissed Yuuta's neck from her position on top of him, her small figure not heavy. His hands ran comfortingly over her back, amplified by the duvet pressing into her, rubbing pleasurably against her naked skin. Sanae felt like she was in a trance, warmth radiating into her from the rest of them, the four of them so close Shinka and Yuuta's shoulders were touching.

"Ah," she sighed, "this was a really good idea, Master…"

Rikka reached up and ran a hand over Sanae's back too, the blonde girl shivering as she felt another contact. "Yeah. This feels nice." She smiled contently at Shinka, who was under her, Shinka's fingertips running down Rikka's thigh.

Yuuta had acquiesced to Sanae's clumsy attempts at kissing him directly, her pouting too aggressive to resist, and their lips met wetly as the other pair watched, Sanae's frown relaxing as they kissed slowly, her body relaxing into his.

"Sanae adores kissing," Shinka said to Rikka, quietly. "Usually we kiss pretty much whenever we're alone. It's so weird, watching my girlfriend kiss someone else and being fine with it."

"This whole thing is weird," Rikka frowned, "but I feel so close with all of you, it seems like it doesn't matter. The only bad thing about being together is that it's impossible for us all to kiss at once."

Sanae intensified her kiss with Yuuta, probing his wet lips with an eager tongue, finding her way into his mouth, and he moaned as he felt the girl pushing into him, her tongue rubbing wetly around his.

"Showoff. We're going to end up having sex again at this rate," Shinka whined. "I liked being clean and in bed."

Rikka giggled. "I thought you would be used to Deko's needs by now. You must have foreseen this."

"Oh, she doesn't need this right now - she just wants it." Shinka cleared her throat. "Sanae loves kissing and she loves sex. You'll know when she needs it; you won't get any of the forewarning."

Rikka nodded, remembering how quickly Dekomori had moved on her in the clubroom. "Yeah… I'm familiar."

Shinka smiled. "Do you mind if we watch them for a while? I want to see their reactions whilst they do it."

"I like that idea," Rikka nodded. "They can do the same for us, right…"

Shinka rubbed Rikka's hips, her fingers squeezing her. "Mmm, yes, I like that." She directed her voice at the kissing pair. "Rikka and I are going to watch you together. Is that okay?"

Sanae pulled up from Yuuta's face, grinning. "You already were," she smirked. "It's fine by me."

Yuuta sighed, Sanae's weight shifting on him. "I thought this was about bonding," he said.

Sanae tilted her head, tossing her hair back.. "Sex is a form of bonding, Yuuta. It directly connects the participants in a link of love that not even foes in the Ethereal Planes can break."

Yuuta scowled, looking over at Shinka for help. "Please don't tell me that you wrote lines about sex in the Mabinogion."

Nibutani mouthed helplessly.

"It's fine," Rikka said, reaching out and touching Yuuta's hand. He smiled at her small gesture. "Watching you two together is intimate. Your connection is cool and powerful." She smiled wryly, the affection clear in her expression. "I'm glad my servant feels the same way about you, Yuuta. So we want to watch."

"These terms seem acceptable, Master," Sanae agreed, grinning, and hastily resumed what she had been doing. Yuuta was caught off guard; Sanae pushed him down into the bed under her, her bare chest and stomach rubbing against his deliciously.

Yuuta groaned as her calves pressed into his hips, the girl levering herself forward to kiss him, her hands on his shoulders, his hands around her back. He felt himself getting hard.

"Ah, Sanae," he breathed, her eager mouth and tongue giving him little pause to talk. "You're so eager. I can summon up the energy for one more, I think. But it might take me a while to, uhm, come inside you."

Sanae smiled at him fiercely, her teeth bared, almost a challenge in her expression. "That's fine, Yuuta," she said, her eyes amused, flicking between his face and where he was touching her, hard against her wetness. "We've got all day…"

The others in the bed were watching them as promised. Rikka held Shinka's hand against her stomach, the bigger girl's fingertips working in small delicate circles on her skin. Rikka's lips were open in delight, the chuuni's breaths short as Shinka's touch picked up on the growing arousal coming from watching their other lovers together.

Watching Sanae and Yuuta together was hot; the cute way the boy's face was red, the enticing way the girl sucked on his lower lip, the febrile way they explored each other with their hands. Shinka was enjoying herself, watching all of their movements and interactions, Rikka's yielding skin under her hands pliable and satisfying.

"Ah, this is hot," Shinka moaned into Rikka's ear, her fingertips digging firmer into Rikka's skin, her touch on the girl's soft skin more urgent.

"Yeah," Rikka breathed, very conscious Shinka's hands were slipping lower now, past the point of her navel, caressing the skin above her pubic bone.

"Shinka, t-that's not fair," she moaned, "you know what that is doing to me, right..." Rikka was squirming now, her legs and hips restless.

"Maybe." Shinka's tone was enigmatic, playfully refusing to be drawn. "If you want me to touch you... I want _you_ to pull my hands in."

The blue-haired girl quickly grabbed Shinka's teasing hand and pushed it down between her legs, Shinka feeling her fingers meet the wet juncture of Rikka's thighs. Rikka let out a soft, low moan at the contact, Shinka responding to the enthusiasm with gentle movements around her clit.

Rikka tensed as her thighs clamped hard around Shinka's hand, Rikka using her hand to press Shinka into her, Shinka's other hand still caressing her stomach. The sensations were overwhelming, the physical need to have Shinka at her most intimate sudden and unexpected.

"Whoa," Shinka said in surprise, "are you ok there, Rikka?"

"No," Rikka whined, furiously pushing Shinka's hand into her core, her pubic mound rubbing hard against the long fingers there. "I need you," Rikka moaned, "all that buildup; it's suddenly too much."

Shinka began rubbing Rikka's clit more firmly and quickly, her fingers slipping easily against the girl in her desperate state, her fingertips eliciting constant gasps of pleasure from that pleasure's recipient. Rikka's noises of approval began to turn loud and indecent, carried on each of her exhalations.

Next to them, Sanae broke her kiss with Yuuta, her face flushed, a wry smile on her face. She wiggled her hips over him, feeling his erection press into her thigh.

"Are you ready, Yuuta," the blonde girl asked.

"Yeah," Yuuta breathed, "are you?"

Sanae's hand stole down to where they were met, her hand finding his erection, lining it up with her opening. Yuuta sighed as he felt himself rub wetly along Sanae. She grinned, seeing his reaction. "Of course. It's about to get better."

She lowered herself onto him, her lips parting as he was pushed into her, knees lowering herself onto him. Sanae bit her lip as Yuuta slid inside her, and moaned gently once he was fully inside her; she could feel him pressing hot against her insides. Yuuta pulled her back down into a kiss, as he started moving inside her.

Rikka watched them make contact and pushed Shinka's fingers into her further as she came at the sight, Shinka pushing forwards and urgently kissing Rikka when she realised the girl was coming. Rikka's hips shook violently around her wet fingers as she did just that, a muffled moan of pleasure coming as their lips met, the dual-sensation heightening Rikka's climax as Shinka pushed her tongue into the other girl's mouth.

The pleasure rushed through Rikka, her head light, the arousal overwhelming, the intense rushing of her orgasm making her feel good. After a few more seconds, it was over, and Shinka broke their kiss gently, kissing Rikka's forehead instead. "Ah," Rikka panted, after the orgasm had washed through her and the post-climax glow began to set in. Shinka's hand was still between her thighs in a death-grip that Rikka quickly released, looking apologetic. "Ah, sorry, Shinka, that was just, you made me come so hard..."

Shinka shook her head, a pleased smile on her face. "Don't apologise, Rikka. I'm glad you came." She pushed her head forward, kissing Rikka behind the ear. "I'm glad you came for me."

Rikka was breathing heavily, trying to regain any composure, the rushing blood in her head and chest not letting her rest or think, the afterglow of orgasm still between her legs. "Ah," she breathed, almost mindlessly, "that was so good…"

The brown-haired girl behind her pushed her hair back with a free hand, blowing the errant strands out of her face. "Good." Her eyes moved from Rikka back to where Sanae and Yuuta were making love together. Their kiss was unceasing, Sanae's small breasts and tight stomach rubbing against Yuuta's bare chest as he moved inside her. The duvet on their side was pooled around their feet. Shinka let out a small hum; the sight was extremely enticing.

In her arms, Rikka was fidgeting, drawing her attention away. "Thanks, Shinka," the girl in her arms murmured, not looking back, her breath still short. "I wanted us all to touch, but your hands just made me really wound up. Thanks for recognising I needed something a bit more..."

In response, Shinka kissed the back of her neck. "It's fine. I'll never get tired of touching you, Rikka."

Rikka sighed, the blood rushing from her arousal into the rest of her body, alleviating her light head. _I'll never get tired of touching you, Rikka._ "Ah," Rikka moaned, the words leaving her a little surprised, repeating in her head.

"Eh?" Shinka started, concerned. "Are you ok, Rikka?"

Rikka slowly turned around, not meeting Shinka's puzzled look, a small, embarrassed smile on her face. She took a deep breath and looked at Shinka.

"I love you," Rikka mumbled, her face turning pink.

Shinka's mouth fell slightly open, though she didn't flinch or gasp. _You knew this, Shinka._ Shinka kissed Rikka gently on the lips, chastely again, her lips curling into a smile as she pulled away. "I love you too."

Rikka's hand went to her chest, curled over her heart. "I'm glad," she smiled back. "If it's not too soon to say that kind of thing…"

Shinka winked. "Probably. But that doesn't make it untrue."

Next to them, Yuuta and Sanae were lost in each other, Sanae's position on top driving the tempo. Her hips rolled as she enjoyed the feeling of him moving in and out of her, Yuuta's hand gently touching her core as she moved up and down on him, each brush against his fingers sending a pleasurable jolt into her.

Dekomori's expression was lustful, her hungry eyes tempered with a wicked amusement. "Are you going to come yet?" Sanae teased, her voice lilting. "You're making me feel so good, Yuuta. It's a deathly insult not to give cute girls what they want. And right now, I want you to come inside me."

Yuuta moaned; his pleasure had been building steadily despite how sore he was down there. "I think I'm getting close," he moaned, his face flushed. "I'll tell you when…"

Sanae mock-frowned, the effect offset by a wry smile, before any pretense at coyness was ruined entirely as Yuuta touched her clit. "Ahhhh," Sanae moaned, her arm next to Yuuta's head beginning to shake. "Much more of that, and I'm going to come first," she complained, breath short.

Shinka smiled at Rikka, an idea on her mind. "Let's help these two out."

Rikka nodded determinedly, rolling over and shuffling naked to where Yuuta was lying, her hands in the bedsheet as she stared into his face, a shy smile on her lips. Her eyes locked on Yuuta's, her look travelling direct to the centre of his need.

"You're close, Yuuta," Rikka said, seductively wetting her lips with her tongue for emphasis. "Show us how good she makes you feel. Show _me_ , okay?"

Shinka followed up with her own exhortation. "Come on Sanae," she said, climbing behind Sanae. "I know you're just trying to hold out to show off. I want to watch you come, though."

A few seconds more of encouragement, Shinka squeezing her small breasts, and that was it; both parties in congress peaked. Sanae tossed her head back against Shinka as her nipples were rubbed in tandem with her clit, Shinka's mouth on her neck, teeth gently biting down on Sanae's clavicle. The combination of sensations was more than enough to pull the orgasm out in her. Sanae's hips shook and her wetness tightened firmly around Yuuta, causing him to let go inside her too, the strength of his orgasm forcing his semen inside her. Sanae moaned as she felt him come, his fluid shooting warmly against her tightening insides. Rikka smiled appreciably as she watched her lover's eyes flicker and his face screw up; the expression when he came was always cute, if not as cute as hearing his moan as he came inside the other girl. Rikka reached out a hand to his chest and gently rubbed him there, his eyes slowly easing open as he panted desperately, a hand going up to meet Rikka's in thanks.

Sanae's thighs and hips hurt, an ache in them from being on top for so long, and the sticky wet heat Yuuta had left inside her almost felt like it burned. Sanae let out a low moan as she thought about the sensation and idea of it, Yuuta still inside her.

"Ah," Sanae moaned, "Aaah, Yuuta, I'm so full…"

Yuuta blew out his cheeks, unable to react, trying to recover his breath. "Hah, yeah, Sanae, that was, that was great."

Shinka gently guided the blonde girl off him, the younger girl not complaining as she was laid out on the bed, her legs slowly stretched and straightened by the other girl. Shinka kissed Sanae on the forehead, the girl mildly sweaty under her lips. "I'd clean you up but you look totally done," she smiled.

Sanae closed her eyes. "Just a bit. Ah, I can feel him inside me, still… it's so hot…"

Shinka rubbed Sanae gently on the lower belly, her fingers soft above where Yuuta had probably come inside her. "It's weirdly sexy, right?"

"Yeah," Sanae whined, between breaths. "I get why you two like it, now…"

Shinka leaned over and planted some gentle kisses on the panting girl's lower stomach, her flesh warm under her lips, her heaving chest making her whole torso move. The gentle rise and fall of Sanae's taut stomach under her lips made Shinka smile fondly. "You can have him do that as much as you want," Shinka said, pulling herself back upright, rubbing the area again with her hand. "You just have to take the contraceptives every day. But that goes for all of us."

Yuuta ached; he had come again despite himself, and the post-coital ache in him was fierce, his erection subsiding slowly and somewhat painfully. "Ah, as amazing as all of you are, I'm done for the day," he reluctantly declared. "Possibly the whole weekend, even. I _hurt_."

Sanae groaned from her spreadeagled position further down the bed. "Me too," she sighed, Shinka moving her hands down, rubbing the girl's thighs to release some of the strain. "Ah, thanks though, Yuuta. It was really good."

"Same, honestly," Yuuta chuckled. His face was sweaty. He wiped his forehead with a spare hand. "Ugh, what a mess. How are we gonna do this full-time?"

Rikka had snuggled closer into him, kissing his shoulder. "We'll think of some ways," she said, between fond kisses.

Yuuta stuck his lips towards her for a real kiss, their lips meeting gently. "I heard you speaking with Shinka, over there, you know," he teased. "I'm… it made me happy to hear."

Rikka's hand crept up to her lips, before she smiled shyly through her fingertips. "Me too."

Shinka sighed, her eyes closing. "I like… well, maybe I _love_ you all. But we need to do something more productive than lie in bed if we're not going to have sex all day."

Sanae blew air out of her mouth from her prone position, her cheeks puffing. "I hate to say it, my love, but that sounds like a good idea. At least until we've had a little time to recover."

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Rikka suggested. "It would be nice to get some air. I mean, being in bed with all of you is good too, but…"

Yuuta grimaced. "I think my legs will just about manage." He pushed himself up against the backboard, back resting on some pillows, people in his field of view now instead of the ceiling. "Could we go over to my place? I could do with some fresh clothes, underwear, and pyjamas that are mine; that is, if we're planning to stay here again tonight?"

Sanae rolled over on the bed at Shinka's urging, so that she could rub the other side of her thighs. "Cast aside your fears, Dark Flame Master," Dekomori said, "The Infernal Palace of Night remains open to you all, though…"

Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "... though?"

"... though we should make sure we get to school on Monday," she finished, slightly less bravado.

Shinka shook her head. "I'll make sure of that. We're already lined up for a dressing-down on Monday. Frankly, I'd like to avoid making it worse." She turned to Yuuta. "If we're going out for the afternoon, do you even have anything to wear out?"

Yuuta grimaced. "Sweaty school clothes, probably. Though, Rikka's in the same situation., At least it's not too far back to my place, and we can get changed there. If we make a move in the next hour or so we can probably even pass off as people who went to school today instead of spending it in bed."

"We should probably get some real food and cook together, if we're going to stay here again tonight and tomorrow. Instant meals aren't good two days in a row. We could pick up some stuff whilst at yours."

"Sure," Yuuta said. "I'm pretty hungry already, I guess. I wouldn't mind eating some food there. I was kind of half-hoping Sanae would be rich enough for a breakfast-in-bed service…"

A snort came up from Sanae, who had pulled herself under the duvet next to him now, departing Shinka's rub-down with a kiss to the cheek. "Whilst your appraisal of the Mjolnir dynasty's material wealth is reasonable, you will be disappointed. Our stronghold has many facilities, Yuuta, but Shinka and I usually have to feed ourselves."

Shinka sighed. "She means, I have to cook for the both of us."

"You are good at it, though," Sanae piped, her voice muffled under the duvet.

Yuuta shook his head. "I assume you and I will be doing the cooking then, Shinka. By her own admission Dekomori doesn't have the first clue and Rikka isn't too hot either."

"Alright, it's a plan." Shinka looked at the clock. "I think we still have an hour or so before we can make a move though. Shall we... do some more cuddling?"


	7. Chapter 7

As the clock reached midday, the four left Sanae's bed in varying orders of reluctance. Shinka was the first to get up; Sanae, predictably, was the last. She cosseted herself in the emptied bed, pulling the duvet tight around her as the warmth from the other three evaporated from the surrounding sheets.

Yuuta grimaced as he levered out of bed, a tense look on his face.

"Are you alright, Yuuta?" Rikka inquired, seeing his expression when he stood. She looked him up and down uncertainly, his naked form less appealing than usual as she considered his pained reaction.

He chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck with a free hand. "A night and morning of sex has done a number on me," Yuuta replied, gesturing below his waist vaguely with the other. "How are you doing?"

Rikka's mouth curled at the side, the girl chewing it over. "A bit sore," she said, "but not as bad as when you- when we, uhm, did it for the first time. So it's fine. I can still walk this time."

Over in the corner, Shinka was leaning over, rummaging the distant pile where their nightclothes lay mixed and scattered. She pulled on her own top, before walking over and offering Rikka and Yuuta their borrowed ones. Yuuta stretched his limbs, letting the t-shirt fall over his head again; when his head emerged, he saw Rikka doing up the buttons on hers.

The ensconced Sanae had had her clothes thrown underarm over her face, and the blonde girl pushed them off indignantly. "Hmpf," Sanae complained. "Such barbaric treatment for your host…"

"Host, lover, general annoyance," Shinka said, hands on her bare hips. "Come on, Sanae. It's rude to make guests wait on you." She looked at the others. "If you want to go and get dressed so we can go out, I'll pull this idiot out of bed and do the same."

"Yeah, that's fine," Yuuta said. "I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of not having some clean underwear, but…" He tailed off, noticing the withering stare Shinka was giving him.

"How awful, Yuuta. It's not like I had to do the same thing yesterday. At least _yours_ won't be full of someone else's cum," Shinka said, before her eyes narrowed, "unless you do something with them I don't want to understand."

Yuuta shook his head. "Fair point, well made," he replied hastily, "I'll tough it out for a bit."

Nibutani looked at Rikka. "I can probably get you some clean underwear, Rikka, if you don't mind wearing something of ours. Probably Sanae's stuff would fit you the best. I think my hips are too wide for mine to fit you comfortably."

Rikka nodded, grateful. "Thanks, Shinka."

Shinka walked over to the dresser, looking through it as if it were her own; her hand found the right drawer instantly, her experience with the surroundings obvious. She pulled out a pair of blue-and-white striped panties and handed them to Rikka. "This looks about right. And there's some socks, too."

"Thank you," Rikka said. "Yuuta and I shall return shortly. Good luck rousing my servant in the meantime."

From the bed a muffled voice rose up through the duvet. "I'll get up," Sanae complained.

"Good," Shinka sighed, running her hands through her hair. "Ugh, this needs straightening. We'll be ready in a bit."

"Alright, see you in a few," Yuuta assented, turning to Rikka, "time to go fish our clothes back out of the bathroom."

"Life is suffering," Shinka said, unsympathetic, before she cracked, tipping Rikka a wink. "I'm sure it was worth the hassle."

Rikka smiled widely back at her, as she reflected that it really had been.

Yuuta wiped the remnants of the morning off himself as best he could. "Sanae is a real handful," he said, rinsing the cloth under the tap in the sink. "At least she's jumped both of us now…"

Rikka blinked. "I don't think it was really so bad, I mean…" Pink crept onto her cheekbones. "I mean… She made me feel really good yesterday… well, her and Shinka both have… as well as you, Yuuta… so all of you have, actually, I mean... "

Yuuta wrung out the flannel and smiled. "It's fine to talk about this stuff, you know. It's kind of odd to think about, but we all wanted this, so..." He looked at Rikka. "It's like Shinka said. It's not about the sex, but the sex has definitely been good."

Rikka blushed harder, staring at her toes. "Yeah," she smiled, embarrassed. "I mean, I started to think about doing it with them after all the videos we shared… but the real thing has been - well, much better than I expected."

Yuuta smiled weakly. "Yeah, it has. Though I think I've been, uhm. Wrung out for... at least a day."

"My servant is indeed enthusiastic."

"Any more enthusiastic and there won't be anything left of me."

Rikka jutted out her lip, genuinely concerned. "I can ask her to be more gentle…"

"It's fine," Yuuta said, shaking his head. "Sanae's… _energy_ is something I really like about her. I'm sure with some getting to know each other and, uhm, regular practice… we'll all have a better time together."

Rikka smiled. "I hope so."

The two of them helped each other dress in their school clothes from the day prior. Yuuta stared jealously at Rikka's clean underwear before shrugging, resigned, and put on the ones from yesterday. "The others are going to look clean and cute and we're letting the side down," he lamented. "At least our places are reasonably close to here."

Rikka wiggled her hips. "Am I not cute as I am, Yuuta?"

He looked at her. Her blue hair was tousled from the bed, the usual yellow ribbon tied in the side doing little to improve the situation. Rikka's shirt was untucked, her tummy peeking through the bottom of the shirt tails as she had only got halfway through buttoning it, and under her red-and-white skirt, a pair of bare legs stared back at him, loaned socks barely covering her feet. She looked at him expectantly with her hands on her hips.

Yuuta whistled. "You look amazing," he said, "really sexy and cute. But not quite suitable for going out."

"Oh, I know," Rikka nodded, "but that's fine. This is the me only you get to see." She swallowed. "Well, you and the others too, I guess. But you're the only one here with me now." She moved forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Yuuta."

"I love you too," Yuuta said, smiling, embarrassed. "Come on, let's get finished up here."

A few minutes more of dressing and self-tidying - _papering over the cracks,_ Yuuta thought - and the two looked modestly presentable, with an emphasis on the modest. Rikka had been staring intently into the mirror as Yuuta pulled his socks on. He stood up, moving behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders as she looked into the reflective infinite.

"See anything nice?" he joked.

"I was thinking about whether to put my contact lens in or not," Rikka muttered, reluctantly.

"Don't you want to?"

"I... " Rikka stared at herself, struggling. "I do, but if I do, I have to put the eyepatch on, as well. And…" She tailed off.

".. And?" Yuuta prodded, gently. Rikka kept staring at her eyes in her reflection, an internal battle of the pros and cons going on in her head.

"Why not tell me what you're struggling with," Yuuta suggested.

"It's… well, wearing the eyepatch is cool. Like, really cool," Rikka explained, slightly downcast. "But... it makes it hard to see things. People. All of you… and if I have one contract partner and two lovers instead of one contract partner… I want-" She shook her head. "No, I _need_ to see you all more... I want to put it on again, but I have the feeling that when I'm with all of you, I don't particularly want to wear it."

Yuuta worked his mouth. He didn't know what to say, settling on squeezing her shoulders whilst his brain worked. "You don't have to do it because you have to pretend to be proper, or adult," he said, after a moment. "This isn't like last year where not wearing that stuff made you miserable?"

Rikka shook her head. "No, it's not like that. I don't feel like I _have_ to do this. I just… I think I want to. I'll still be the same without it, won't I?" She looked at him in the mirror, a pair of teal eyes staring into his uncertainly. "Won't I?"

"To me, you will always be Rikka Takanashi," Yuuta said, "the girl I love. I'm fine with whatever you decide, so long as you're fine with it too. And the others will feel the same, right? We're all so close because we spent the last two years doing nothing _but_ having each other's backs. So don't let uncertainty come into it."

Rikka nodded, folding her fingers over the lens case in her hand, slipping it into her pocket, her hand reaching round for his once she had done so. "Alright," she resolved, "I'll try without it today."

Yuuta nodded. "You've still got the same powers inside you. Not putting in a contact lens or not wearing a bandage doesn't make you any weaker, okay?"

Rikka thought for a moment, then nodded shakily. "Okay," she decided, blinking as if the visual feed from having two eyes available had just kicked in, unfamiliar. She span round and gave Yuuta a sudden hug, putting her head against his chest. "Thanks, Yuuta."

He patted her on the back. "Any time, Rikka. Shall we go and rendezvous with the others?"

She took his hand once more. "Yeah."

They opened the door to find Shinka scowling, eyes shut as Sanae ran a pair of straighteners through her hair. Shinka was sat on the edge of the bed, the other girl on her knees behind her as she worked with deft hands. Sanae's usual grin found her face as the door opened, the other two standing in the doorway observing her handiwork.

Rikka nodded, impressed. "Wow, Shinka, you let Deko do your hair? That's cool."

Yuuta snorted. "More like brave."

Shinka opened one eye, looking at them. "She has her uses," she said, sanguine. Sanae pulled the hair straighteners through the last strands of hair, the distinctive heated smell filling the room. Sanae jumped off the bed, handing Shinka her usual pink hairclip.

She reached up and clipped her fringe back. "Thanks," Shinka said.

Sanae unplugged the device, laying it on the heatproof mat. "You are very welcome."

Yuuta saw that the two girls had dressed in their preference of casual clothes. Sanae's striped leggings caught his eye. "Nice tights," he muttered.

Sanae folded her arms. "They are not _tights._ They are _leggings._ "

"Same difference," Yuuta shrugged. "You both look good. Better than either of us."

Shinka smiled up at him, fastening the hair at the back of her head. "I don't believe you've ever complimented how we look before," she said. "Who knew all you have to do to get compliments is to sleep with someone?"

She kissed him on the cheek as she stood up, his response not forthcoming. "You're too easy, Yuuta," she suggested. "Are we all ready to go out into the wide world?"

"The sooner the better," Yuuta replied, "I want something clean to wear."

"I'm ready," Rikka assented.

Sanae rolled up the hair straighteners in their holder on the floor, bundling the plastic plug in with a hollow thunk. She quickly closed it and tossed it on the bed.

"Don't you want us to make the bed before we go?" Yuuta asked.

"Not a chance," Sanae smiled, standing up, before her smile disappeared as her face turned in shock. "Master! Y-Your eye! Have you been assailed by assassins from the spirit realm? I-"

Quickly Rikka threw up a hand to placate Dekomori's rambling. "Peace, my servant. All is well. I have… I just decided not to invoke my powers today."

Sanae looked nonplussed. "But what if agents of the Bureau take it for weakness? We would be less capable, Master… if there comes a battle in the streets, you would leave us less defended?"

"She hasn't been wearing her contact lens all night, Sanae," Yuuta pointed out. "Why are you surprised now?"

"I expected Master to recommit herself to the Wicked Lord once we left the Fortress," Sanae frowned.

Rikka fidgeted with her metal crucifix. "I... " Yuuta reached out and squeezed Rikka's hand, reassuring her. "I just chose not to wear it today, okay," she managed, weakly. "I need both my eyes available to hold visual communications with my contract partner and my… newly acquired lovers."

Sanae looked lost. "But, Master, such sentiment - to choose us in favour of your powers…"

Rikka looked at her. "I still have the power of the Tyrant's Eye, my servant. It is imprisoned eternally within me. But when I am with all of you... I feel like I'm filled with an alternative source of power."

Sanae traded glances with Shinka, who gave her a small, subtle nod back. Dekomori seemed to relax a little, a slight look of confusion still on her face as she looked back at Rikka. Rikka pressed her case. "I really don't know, Deko, but I want to try it this way for once, okay?""

"Okay," Sanae decreed, uncertainly. "If you think it's alright, Master…"

Yuuta watched as Shinka's shoulders just perceptibly lowered after Sanae's placid agreement, the girl flashing his eyebrows at him. _Had she been expecting a fight?_

Shinka cut off any opportunity for him to follow it up; they were all out of time, anyway. "Alright, if we're all ready, let's get going, before we set on each other again," she suggested, hair finished.

Sanae's unconfident look wavered on her face, before her normal, energetic self re-emerged. "Indeed such a move would be prudent," she mused. "Let's get going."

The four filed out of her self-appointed Fortress, before the twin-tail led them downstairs to the door. Yuuta kicked on his shoes perfunctorily whilst Rikka took more pleasure in pulling the velcro straps of her heelies open and shut.

Shinka slid into her own shoes and picked up her bag, opening the house door onto a grey midday. It was pouring wet, the late summer rain warm and steady, water pooling on the concrete steps.

"Damn," she remarked, mildly. "Well, that's fine, I guess. If we share an umbrella, that should keep the worst of it off." Nibutani looked at Rikka, who had been doing small slides on Dekomori's marble floor with her heelies. "Try not to slip over in those when we go out, Rikka. It's pretty wet outside."

Rikka nodded. "Thanks. I won't."

Shinka nodded, not completely convinced, but to say otherwise would have been churlish.

"Okay," she said, pulling a clear, foldable umbrella out of her bag. "Do you want to share with me or Sanae?"

"I'll go with Master," Dekomori was quick to interject.

Rikka smiled. "I didn't have to pick, huh? As you know, my servant, I have my own elemental shield, but I can go with you just as easily."

Yuuta held out his hand towards Shinka. She looked at his palm for several seconds, blank.

"I'll carry it for us, if you like," he offered. "I thought since I'm taller, it might make sense…"

Nibutani blinked. "Ah," she said, "yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, I'm used to having to carry it. Let alone Sanae's tendency to muscle me out from underneath."

"I would never do such a thing," Dekomori muttered.

"Sure you wouldn't." She passed the umbrella to Yuuta, who stepped through the doorway and flung it open, the clear plastic immediately fogged by the incident rain. Shinka stepped out next to him. Yuuta lifted the umbrella up over her head as she joined him, offering a bent arm. Shinka looked blankly at him again.

"I mean, you don't have to take it," he said, feeling awkward.

Shinka frowned. "How _gallant_ ," she said, drily. "Jeez, Yuuta. You almost had me convinced you were just a boring dork. Who knew such a dark streak of romanticism ran through you?" She smiled as she allowed herself to take his offered arm. "Thanks," Shinka said, not unkindly. "It's just a change in dynamic. I'm not trying to make it awkward."

"It's fine," Yuuta said, staring at the gates to the courtyard a few metres away, the wrought iron black and shiny. "We won't get there overnight."

Inside, Sanae and Rikka had been playing rock-paper-scissors for supremacy of umbrella. Sanae, apparently winning, marched triumphantly through the doorway after Rikka, pulling the door closed and locking it shut. Sanae handed Rikka her umbrella, Rikka tentatively opening it next to the others'. Sanae's umbrella was a hemisphere of absurdly yellow plastic, almost offensive to the eyes.

"Why am I not surprised," Yuuta muttered, looking up at the monstrosity.

"It's Sanae's," Shinka said, simply.

Rikka held her pair's umbrella, smiling across at the others. "I guess I get to be the tall one here," she laughed. Sanae ducked under the umbrella, tucking the end of her twintails into her pockets. "I don't want them to get wet," she explained.

After a quick last check that everything was satisfactory, the four of them began their trek to the train station, retracing the steps they'd taken just yesterday. The wet weather subdued the worst of Sanae's usual impulses, the girl seemingly quite content in the downpour to walk alongside Rikka and chat instead of anything more dynamic. They began to talk animatedly; from the words that crept across the divide between the pairs, it was about some action anime or something.

 _We spend the last twelve hours sleeping together and they're as happy as ever._ Yuuta was secretly pleased. For all the worry Rikka had espoused to him earlier, this kind of behaviour was immediately Rikka-ish. _I guess this might work after all._

"I could get used to this," Shinka suggested, striking up their own conversation.

"Rain?"

"Walking with you. It's quite comfortable not having to carry the umbrella."

"I aim to please," Yuuta said, evenly.

Shinka squeezed his forearm. "You could _sound_ a bit more pleased, then."

Yuuta allowed himself a smile. "You've already heard my best appreciation for you."

"I guess I have," Shinka allowed. "And you mine, too."

"Shinka… Do you really think this will work?"

"Well… I'm glad it hasn't turned out quite as awkward as I was expecting," Shinka said, thinking about it. "I was… not exactly _scared_ that we would fall out, but I was worried about it. I'm sure in an alternate timeline we all fell out massively yesterday and never spoke to each other again. And the idea of that sounds lame."

"I'm glad it didn't end like that, either," Yuuta agreed. "I mentioned to Rikka earlier, when we were alone. The four of us have spent the last two years doing nothing but helping each other out. When you look at it that way, it's like you said yesterday. This kind of thing was inevitable."

"If I was someone close looking at the four of us, I'd probably wonder what the hell we're all doing. I'm still surprised at how quickly we've all taken to this. But it's good, I guess…"

"Right. We've already worked through one set of problems together," Yuuta said, quickly continuing before Shinka could retort. "I know what you want to say, I'm just making the point, there'll be a thousand more issues to come up before the end. Ones of our own making and ones of others'. So I guess there'll be a lot more occasions where we all help each other out."

Shinka chewed on this as they walked a little further. "Jeez, Yuuta. For ages I think of you as lameness personified and then you come up with this kind of stuff."

"I'm still your friend, Shinka. In the same ways I ever was. Just.. with all this new stuff on top of it."

"Oh, we're not friends anymore, remember," Shinka said, smiling roguishly. "Friends don't do this kind of thing. We're…" she tailed off, considering candidate words in her mind. "We are _lovers_."

"We can't be boyfriend and girlfriend?" Yuuta asked. "Not that it would really describe what we are, I guess."

"Boyfriend is a stupid word," Shinka muttered, darkly. " _Lovers_ is much more adult."

"Is that why you and Sanae always call each other that?"

"Partially," Shinka admitted. "But it was her idea in the first place. For a girl that cleaves to the Mabinogion like it's some holy scripture, you'd have a hard time convincing her anything closer than friendships _shouldn't_ contain the word 'love'."

"That's fair," Yuuta nodded. "You know Rikka and I are 'contract partners'. Don't be surprised if she comes asking you and Sanae to sign up to that way of thinking some time soon."

Shinka blinked. "Huh?" She looked up at him. "Does that involve stamping an actual contract, or…"

Yuuta shook his head. "Not that I remember. But Rikka is so possessive, I suggest you don't give her that idea. She'll be preparing the documents as proof we're hers."

"If I end up doing that, I'm dragging you into it with me," Shinka muttered.

"Come now. None of us would want to disappoint her. Besides, I'm already under contract with her."

The image of Rikka wearing a downcast, disappointed face came into Shinka's head. "Jerk," she said, shaking her head to clear her imagination. "I guess I'd do it if she wanted. I've given up on any hope of avoiding embarrassment with you three."

"That's the spirit," Yuuta replied, cheerily, guiding them to the edge of the pavement to allow a group of pedestrians past. "You'll survive us yet, Shinka Nibutani."

Nibutani glowered back. "I have your measure fine. The other two.. Well, we'll learn from each other, I guess."

"Fine by me," Yuuta assented.

The two were quiet for a little after that, walking along in the weather, the rain sliding off the umbrella every so often with a clattering of droplets hitting the concrete.

* * *

Despite the rain, their train was on time, and the four of them filed on without fuss. Rikka had been talked down from doing wheel tricks on the platform, joining the others instead to stand under the awning and escape the rain until the train came.

The journey to Togashi's place wasn't long, and the group were soon walking towards his apartment, umbrellas quickly unfurled again against the unabating rain.

Yuuta began to get fidgety as they rounded the corner to his residence. Shinka could feel his fingers moving through her sleeve.

"We might have been at this only for a day or so but already I can tell when you're nervous," she said. "What is it?"

"Ah, nothing major, really," Yuuta replied back. "I just don't know if my family is at home. I sent them a text last night, but I don't know if they're around or not. I mean, I'm not expecting them to be for a while, I was just thinking about if we had to be careful about how we walk in."

"Sorry Yuuta. I'll just take off the pin badge that says, "New Romantic Foursome" from my jacket. I know it's going to sound insincere considering how I lashed out earlier, but relax, won't you?"

"I guess I should," he replied, his fingers steadying. "Doesn't having you hanging on my arm rather than Rikka look a bit strange, though?"

Shinka sighed. "It's an umbrella, Yuuta. This isn't the most romantic thing anyone will ever do. Or share for that matter." She looked away, into the rain. "As you should well know..."

Memories of Shinka's eagerness to share certain things aptly came flooding into his mind. Yuuta coughed. "Ah, yeah."

The girl on his arm smiled, enjoying his embarrassment. "Memories are free, Yuuta. Enjoy them. In any case, 500 yen says we won't be getting any questions about walking together."

Yuuta shrugged with his free shoulder. "I guess. Sorry, I'd just rather not have to explain any of this to my family, at least not today."

Shinka sighed. "Yeah, I know how _that_ feels."

Soon they reached the interior steps to his apartment, gladly moving out of the weather into the stairwell. Rikka and Sanae caught up with them after a minute or so, lowering their umbrella to reveal both girls looking pleased with themselves. Yuuta looked back at them as he rummaged for his keys, the girls trying and failing to hide a pair of sly smiles. "What have you been plotting now," he asked.

"Nothing important," Sanae said. "Open up so we can dry off already."

The boy eventually got the door to his apartment open, the inside still and quiet. As the four of them slid inside, umbrellas got stowed and shoes kicked off. Yuuta palmed the lightswitch, and the apartment lit up.

"I hate walking in the rain," Sanae complained. "My toes always get wet…"

Rikka looked at her servant's socks. They were soaked through at the tips.

"Yuuta, my servant has been beset by the aquatic plague!"

"Okay… Sanae can dry her socks whilst we get changed," Yuuta said. "Help yourself if you want a drink or something," he gestured to Nibutani, "Rikka and I won't be too long." He held out his hand to Rikka, who allowed herself to be led away, raising a hand blindly in goodbye as they left the others.

Sanae was pulling her socks off, holding them in front of her with a mournful expression. "He didn't say exactly how I was supposed to dry these," she sulked.

"I don't really feel like poking around his apartment to find out," Shinka said. "I doubt very much Togashi has a dryer. You'll have to hang them up."

Sanae looked sadly at the rain outside. "Hnf. Very well, I shall set them to dry somewhere." Shinka watched as Sanae moved dramatically over to one of the dining chairs, laying her socks over the back. A small smile hit her face as her eyes slipped down to look at Sanae's bare feet.

"What are you deathly smiling about," Sanae asked thunderously, appearing in front of Shinka, who was quite taken by surprise.

"Ah, nothing," Shinka lied, "I was just spacing out."

"Well, pay attention. We're on our own here until Master and Yuuta reappear."

 _Yeah, that reminds me. Rikka._ Shinka sat down on the sofa in the living area, waving Sanae over to join her.

"Speaking of Rikka," Shinka started as Sanae sat by her side, her tone careful. "What was that about earlier? You looked like you were about to fight shadows when you saw she wasn't wearing that bandage she usually keeps over her eye. What's up?"

"You think to probe my thoughts?" Sanae scowled. "Well, I was concerned about my master's judgement. I thought she might be abrogating her deathly responsibilities."

"And?" Shinka continued. "Is she?"

"... I don't know," Dekomori confessed, "She assured me again on the trip over that she was still keen to carry on our strong bond. So I'm quite confident on her feelings, but to abandon the marks of her power in favour of mere mortal sight… I don't quite understand that…"

Shinka took Sanae's hand and squeezed it. "Some of us might have to change things about ourselves if we are going to be together like this," Shinka explained, "little changes to get closer with each other. Were you listening to why Rikka said she wasn't wearing it earlier?"

"I might have been a little distracted," Sanae admitted.

"Good start," Shinka chided. She grit her teeth. "Let me tell you something from the infinite wisdom of Mori Summer."

Sanae scowled. "Invoke her name and make it more confusing, why don't you."

"Listen to me, Sanae Dekomori," Shinka said, poking the blonde girl in the forehead with each syllable. "Rikka took that eyepatch off because she's full of feelings for the three of us and she wants to spend some time dealing with that. If you feel seriously for her like the rest of us do, you need to accept her choices."

Sanae hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. "I love her just as she is, though," she said, downcast. "How do you know she wants this and it's not some terrible Enemy scheme?"

"Because we've both seen what happened when Rikka felt she _had_ to change. It was in the first year, remember? Rikka wants to change because of the new relationship she has with the two of us. It's our responsibility to help her rather than criticise her, like we always have helped her.."

"Why are you always right," Sanae grumbled, "Why do you always know this stuff…"

Shinka smiled, pushing her fingers through Sanae's, holding hands. "Because I'm not an arrogant dimwit and I listen sometimes." And then, before Sanae could interject, "I love you, but you have to realise that Rikka does as well. Right now she's trying to get those feelings sorted and it's throwing her chuuni side off. Do you understand?"

"To think that I would not support my eternal master," Sanae said, not meeting Shinka's eyes. "I… you did clear it up, Fake Summer."

Shinka sighed. "I tell you all about the mysteries of love and you still insist I'm the fake one. No wonder you get confused, Sanae."

Sanae kneeled up on the sofa and kissed Shinka on the cheek. "Oh, I know you're the real one, Shinka," she said, laying her head on Shinka's chest. "Maybe I should make admitting that my deathly little change." She purred as her lover touched her bare, sockless legs, Shinka's soft fingers never failing to feel nice. "Mmmm."

"Ugh, don't get too comfortable," Shinka said, dismissive. "Besides, your feet are all clammy. I'm not touching those."

From behind them, Yuuta's voice came. "I'm sorted, now," he started, "Rikka will be done as soon as she picks out some clothes. When she's done, do you want to hang out here, or in my room?"

"How romantic," Shinka joked. "You already want to revisit the scene of our first date…"

Yuuta started. He'd forgotten about that, two years ago, almost. "It's crazy to think that was years ago," he said, his mind working. "We've all known each other for a tenth of our lives. It seems crazy."

Shinka raised an eyebrow. "Counting the days is usually done for something you don't like," she said, "but that said, I hope we get a lot more in."

"Now who's the sickening romantic?"

"Oh, whatever. You like the idea, too."

"Sure," he conceded. "So…"

"I'll come see your room, if you like. I doubt it's improved in the years since I was last in it."

The three of them padded down the hallway, a knock on the door met by Rikka waving them in. Her choice not to wear the eyepatch hadn't affected her choice in casual clothes, the girl cutely dressed with a mess of dark skirts. She tilted her head as she saw them. "Hey."

"Hey," Shinka smiled back. Then she shook her head, surveying the room. "I like you, Yuuta, but as predicted, your bedroom is still a dump. It's just as well we have Sanae's place to sleep at... I'm surprised this room even fits you and Rikka together, let alone Sanae and I."

Yuuta frowned. "Don't hold back, Shinka. Tell me what you really think."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be curt." A sigh passed her lips, her look frustrated. "I've just been running over in my head how all of this is even going to work, logistically. Between the four of us and four places to stay, I'd hoped we could co-opt your place some times."

"Didn't we all stay here before that napping competition last year? If you want us to stay here, we could pull some futons out."

"Futons are fine, I guess. How do you and Rikka normally manage?"

Rikka spoke up. "He and I… we usually sleep in his bed…"

"Ah," Shinka observed. "That's almost kind of cute, together in a single bed. But no good for four of us. Unless you want to squeeze in super tight."

"No," Yuuta replied. "There's also a more pressing issue rather than bed space about using this place more than occasionally."

"All that porn under your bed isn't going to put anyone off," Shinka said, dryly.

"I rather meant the girl who lives upstairs," Yuuta said, pointedly, gesturing to the ceiling and reflexively dropping his voice, continuing more quietly. "It was awkward enough dealing with Shichimiya last year until she decided to give up her feelings for me. Feelings that might not even be fully gone."

This response to her question wrong-footed the girl entirely. "Ah," Shinka said, somewhat unsure how to respond. "I thought it was settled now, though? I mean, she's still a…" Shinka looked sideways, as if the word she wanted to say would cause trouble. "She's still a chuuni, right? I'm not expecting that to change any time soon. But I thought you and her had sorted things out."

"Well, we _had_. But if she finds out that I've fallen in love with the three of you when she specifically claimed to give me up so I could be only with Rikka, how does that look to her?" Yuuta ran his hand through his hair uncertainly, as if he would find an idea there. "If she found out about the four of us, she would be… well, I don't honestly know how she would react. There were enough tears last time."

Shinka chewed on that for a moment. "That doesn't mean we can keep it from her, or that we should."

"I'm not particularly ready to tell _anyone_ about us," Yuuta said quickly. "I think of Satone as a friend, but she's not the kind of close friend I am - well, was? - with all of you. It's the kind of friendship where she would probably rate us closer than I would. So, no, Shinka, I have no idea when or even if to tell her. Because delaying that conversation… when she finds out, at best it makes her feelings look pointless, at worst it makes all of us look needlessly deceptive. I like Satone well enough, but I'd rather not ruin her life by having the four of us waltzing into my place every day and rubbing it in her face."

Dekomori was on the bed, her head on her arm, a plaintive look on her face as she had been listening to the conversation. "Maybe we should battle her for supremacy in the territory."

Nibutani looked unimpressed. "No."

Rikka kicked her heels, not sure what to say. "Can we really keep this a secret from Satone, or anyone else? This is so much more complicated than being only with each other."

The tone in Rikka's words was plaintive, almost pained. Yuuta span around, reflexively wanting to give the girl a hug, only to find Shinka moving past him instead, beating him to the punch. Shinka's arms wrapped around Rikka, Shinka tossing her hair back and tipping Yuuta a wink.

"It's going to be tough," Shinka said, as Rikka's head hit her chest, Shinka rubbing her back reassuringly. "I might have accepted this against every rational bone in my body, but I don't have the first idea about how it's going to carry on." Her voice dropped. "My parents probably already suspect I'm going out with a girl; over the last weeks I've been thinking about how to deal with _that_ conversation at some point. In comparison to what I would have to tell them now? I have far fewer ideas."

Sanae was quick to offer another suggestion. "Master and I could invoke the spirits to cover our tracks. Rumours and gossip would surely fly in the face of ethereal backup."

" _The spirits_ will be about as effective as us going round school telling everyone about this," Nibutani scowled. "It sounds like we're damned either way, so I'd rather not do either."

Yuuta sat on his bed, arms folding as he thought. "I mean… If we don't want anyone to know, we just don't tell anyone, right? Though, I guess that means we have to be careful at school about how we act, too. Doing stuff like that in the clubroom again is going to get us caught. If you think chuunibyou is embarrassing, let's think about how it compares to being caught in the act with each other."

Sanae smiled wickedly, her teeth bared as she grinned up at him. "Perhaps you doubt your own subtlety, Yuuta? Fake Summer and I have undertaken numerous carnal acts there in your absence before."

Yuuta looked over at Shinka, who merely shrugged. "This shouldn't be news to you. We even sent you the video."

"Ah." That was true. It had only been days ago. Yuuta shook his head, feeling stupid. "With all the stuff that happened since then, I've forgotten half of it already."

Close against Shinka's chest, a noise of dejection passed Rikka's lips. "So we'll have to pretend."

"We're all still friends, Rikka," Yuuta pointed out. "People in our class know that. They can go on thinking that, I guess. Just, we'll all know the real truth. Wouldn't you like to know secrets that regular people in the mortal plane can't fathom?"

Rikka allowed herself a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess that doesn't sound so bad."

Yuuta smiled back, encouraged. "I'm sure we can sneak some kisses or something in when the four of us are alone in the clubroom."

"The irony of you talking with Rikka about sneaking kisses in public is staggering, Togashi," Shinka observed, her tone laden with sarcasm. "I guess Sanae and I must be good influences."

"I like the sound of that," Rikka said, moving her head up from Shinka's chest, now sufficiently comforted. She looked up at Shinka. "It might be hard to be with you all between classes now I know what we can all do together," she said, trying to stop her smile widening in embarrassment. Shinka smiled back, finding this endearing, taking Rikka's hand. Rikka's fingers immediately meshed into hers.

Sanae propelled herself from the bed, twintails trailing as she launched to her feet. "Hnf," she sighed, "I'm disappointed that none of you have faith in a magical solution, but leveraging our bonds as a secret over everyone else at school?" Sanae's eyes were shiny and amused, her mind running over this proposition. "Yes, I can agree with that." The fierce grin came back to her face. "Forbidden love has its charms."

Yuuta looked at her, unsure. "Don't blow our act by acting too smug at school."

Sanae waltzed over to where he was sat on the bed, standing in front of him. In a flash, her knees were by his hips as she leaned in and straddled his lap, her striped thigh-high socks highlighting her splayed legs.

She smiled wickedly in his face, her blue eyes staring into his close and urgent. "I like you, Yuuta," she said. "I'll keep our secrets."

The boy looked over Sanae's shoulder, eyes cast past her to look at the other pair, holding hands. "Is this the plan, then?"

"Seems like it for now," Shinka replied. "I don't really like it, but I can't think of anything better. I guess until the whole thing gets blown open or we think of something better, we keep it a secret."

"I'm worried about Dekomori here being too energetic and spill-"

Sanae's hand shot up, and her fingers held his jaw, surprisingly gentle for such a quick reaction. "I meant what I said, Yuuta." she said, quietly. "Even I can tell this isn't a game. I'll have an easier time, anyway, because I'm your underclassman. So I won't get as much questioning about it."

Yuuta nodded, Dekomori's earnest words convincing. "Alright," he said. "We're agreed; let's see how it goes on Monday."

Dekomori jumped off his lap, twintails trailing behind her again. She span on a dime, casting out a hand, the fingers on her other hand splayed in front of her face dramatically. "I'll maintain our cover from the masses, don't you worry. But if any of you give us away… _then_ Master and I shall invoke the spirits."

Rikka nodded, free hand fiddling with the edge of her skirt. "I don't know if it's the best approach to keep this quiet," she said, "but given the grilling my contract partner has had from the Priestess and my other family, I don't think I'm ready for that to get any worse, let alone put the rest of you through it."

Yuuta swallowed nervously, a hand reaching for the back of his neck. "Yeah… the day that Touka finds out about the four of us, we are all toast."

"Ah, yeah, Touka," Shinka said, blowing air out of her mouth, the name itself stressful enough. "She's got enough going on now though, right? After the wedding and all?"

"You underestimate the Priestess," Rikka said. "She would probably fly from Italy just to hit us with her deadliest weapons. Remember what she made you do all summer even when she wasn't angry? This would be way worse. "

"I don't know about that," Shinka said, "she's so far away now, it seems to me like our school is the more immediate problem. Even on top of any of our class finding out, Nanase is going to chew us out first thing on Monday morning."

"You may well be right, Shinka," Rikka agreed. "With the teacher or not, we are taking the same approach of saying nothing."

"Right." Shinka looked around, her expression neutral. "If that's the case, can't we go and get some food? I'm regretting not having any breakfast already, let alone that it's lunchtime."

A smirk crossed Yuuta's face on the other side of the room. "Now who's thinking solely about food?"

He received little in response but Shinka rolling her eyes, the girl too hungry to argue. "See you in the kitchen," she called, walking off, leaving the room with Rikka in tow.

Sanae turned to march off behind them, before Yuuta had a thought. "Ah, Deko- Sanae. Can you hold on for a minute?"

She spun around on him, thrown off by his request. "Huh? What do you need?"

Yuuta shifted his weight, not entirely sure how to ask the question in his mind. "This is going to sound really bad," he prefaced, "but I don't mean it to. I'm just.. a bit unsure with you?"

The girl looked blankly back at him, tilting her head. "How do you mean?"

"With the others, it's much clearer. But with you, Sanae; I like the stupid stuff you get into sometimes, and I like your personality - that's despite myself and despite you, sometimes. I like you a lot. I suspect…" Yuuta's cheeks burned. "I suspect I'm even starting to love you," he said, "I - I just wanted to check that you're fine with that, before we get too far into it. "

"We already took part in the energy rituals," she said, straightfaced.

Yuuta shook his head. "No, I mean, like. Doing that with you is good, too. I mean, feelings wise. I want to know you want to be close with me feelings-wise, as well as the others; that you're not just close with me because you want to please _your master._ "

"I'm not a child," Sanae pouted, dismissively. "I know what I want, Yuuta. I want to do all this with you because I want to be close with you like the others. Whatever bond I previously had with the self-proclaimed Summer, I consider expanded to you and Master now, as well."

"I'm glad, then," Yuuta nodded. "I always felt like our relationship wasn't really well described, before. Seeing how Shinka and Rikka love you… It seems completely irrational given how you act most of the time, but I think I'm getting there, too."

Sanae laughed warmly. "Whoever said love had to be rational?"

"You mean it isn't prescriptively written in Shinka's stupid book," Yuuta scowled.

She shook her head. "Even with my lover's ego, she refrained from describing just how each person had to find their own love." Her lips wrinkled as she chewed on a thought. "As good as the teachings are, if she was really prescient she could have written some more advice in it for the four of us..."

Yuuta laughed. "Yeah, don't suggest that to her though, we'll all be dealing with the fallout."

He walked over and took Sanae's hand. "If we're on the same wavelength, I'm glad."

Sanae looked down at her hand, raising her face back up and grinning. "Well, there's still a bit of divergence. See…" She pulled her hand out of his, before tugging at his shirt sides, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the mouth, her lips pressing into his for a few seconds.

She pulled away, baring her teeth as she grinned at him. "That's better," she said, her hands still attached to him where they pulled at the fabric of his shirt.

Yuuta looked her in the eyes, the face grinning back at him quickly and easily eliciting his own smile back. He leaned in and kissed her again, longer this time, their lips bleeding warmth into each other for some seconds.

Reluctantly, he pulled back, looking away, his face flushed, his own hands unsteady.

"That'll have to do for now," he said, "we should probably go join with the others and get some food."

"Fine," Sanae pouted back, "don't think I won't get more out of you later, though."

The two of them wandered out of the bedroom into the main part of the apartment. In the kitchen, Rikka was watching whilst Shinka was adroitly cutting up some vegetables.

"Hey," Yuuta announced himself.

"Hey, you two," Rikka waved back, one foot up against the worktop door. "The rice cooker is going. It'll be a quarter of an hour, or so. Shinka's making some soup too."

"I'm making do with what you had left, but it'll be better than instant meals," Shinka said, not looking up. "I hope you two weren't misbehaving back there whilst we did all the work."

"Not really," Yuuta said, shrugging. "I was just making sure Sanae and I were on the same page when it comes to this whole thing."

Shinka suppressed a snort. "You were having sex less than two hours ago."

"Turns out that we are," Yuuta continued, "it was nothing to worry about."

"Right," Sanae replied, jumping next to him. "The Dark Flame Master and I were ensuring our alliance."

"It sounds like you were making out," Shinka said.

"Well," Sanae looked away, "only a little bit."

"What are we going to do this afternoon, after lunch?" Rikka asked the rest. "I don't think the rain is stopping any time soon."

"Get some clean weekend and school clothes, buy some food to feed four until Monday, go back to Sanae's, watch some films or something as we struggle to keep our hands off each other again," Yuuta suggested. "We'll have to brave a little more rain doing all that, though."

"If it's nice tomorrow we should do something more proactive," Shinka said, "Sanae's rich enough to cover the rest of her new love square, so if you want to go out for the day, we could travel, do a couple of things and then head back."

"That doesn't sound objectionable," Sanae folded her arms, as she thought about it. "But I want ice cream, if we go out."

Shinka shrugged. "No complaints from me. For now though, it's savoury food only. Could you set the table, Rikka?"

After some more minutes, and the usual ritual thanks, the quartet were eating food at the table. Rikka's eyes were wide as she ate the first few bites, the pleasant flavours of the food sating her unexpectedly deep hunger.

"Yuuta is good at cooking for the two of us, but it seems like you're just as good, Shinka," Rikka marvelled, a genuine smile on her face. "This is really good. Thank you."

"Eh?" Shinka blinked, before shrugging, and firing back her a cautious smile. "Well, Sanae gets annoying when she doesn't eat. And she's not much good at it, so I've picked up a few things I can make. Preparing some miso base isn't too hard, but thanks, anyway."

"I think between the two of you my servant and I will be in excellent hands," Rikka nodded.

"I do not get annoying," Sanae muttered between mouthfuls. "Presumptive Summer…"

"Eat up before you prove me right."


	8. Chapter 8

Rikka gripped her head theatrically. "Who knew the agents of the Enemy could strike through such mundane means…" Her head ached, the cold of too-rapid ice-cream permeating her temples. "Hauuu…"

Her boyfriend squeezed her knee. "Pace yourself, Rikka. I know you want to match Sanae but it's not worth it."

Sanae nodded, apparently the expert in pacing, having demolished an absurd quantity of ice-cream since they had been served some minutes ago. "Slowly does it, Master," she said, completely oblivious to the irony. "Do you want a bite of mine, Yuuta?"

Shinka nearly dropped her spoon, eyes fixing on her girlfriend. "Are you _feeling_ alright?"

Dekomori blinked, pale blue eyes wide and innocent. She tilted her head a fraction. "Yes?"

Shinka set her spoon back in the dish, and leant back in the booth, her arms folded, foot under the table toying with Sanae's. "It seems very uncharacteristic of you to give away something that's yours." She propped herself up a few inches, peering over to get a better look at Sanae's food. True to form, Dekomori had ordered the most ostentatious assembly of ice cream the place offered and had even managed to get halfway through it. "Ah, now I see. Admitting defeat already?"

"You wish," Sanae scowled. "I was just trying to be nice to our new… companions."

Shinka raised an eyebrow. "I think they're a bit more than that."

"Admittedly yes, but I can't say that here, in public. So I was trying to be magnanimous through the medium of ice cream."

Nibutani looked her girlfriend up and down, smiling widely. "Anything for love, huh?"

"You would know," was Sanae's muttered response. She turned to Yuuta. " _Summer_ notwithstanding. Did you want some?"

Yuuta looked at Sanae's dish. "Is it good?" The price might have been ridiculous, but he couldn't deny that it did look good. Very good.

Dekomori smiled devilishly. "Try some and find ou- hey!" Shinka had taken the opportunity to steal a spoonful directly whilst Sanae hadn't been looking. "Presumptive Summer.."

Shinka smiled, playing footsie with Sanae under the table, making a show of eating the spoonful of illicitly-gotten ice-cream. "It's good."

Yuuta picked up his spoon. "Is it alright if I use my spoon?"

Rikka opened one eye through the iron grip on her temple. "I think we're way past that, Yuuta," she said, smiling despite the pain, now lessening a little.

"Ah, yeah," he said, wrongfooted, before silently checking with Sanae, who just nodded. "Go for it. Shinka's already beaten you to it."

Yuuta swept his spoon through the selection of scoops, amassing a cross-section of 5 different flavours, before taking a bite. "It's really nice," he offered, "...not quite as sweet as you, though."

Next to him, Shinka's lips narrowed, her expression pithy. "Absolutely disgusting."

Sanae's foot kicked the back of her calf, before going back to playing with her feet. "Thank you, Yuuta," she grinned, "you can have some more, if you like."

Nibutani's lips twitched. "So I was right; you're just full."

"Let it not be said that my servant has disappointed," Rikka said, her hands finally lowering from her cold forehead. She looked at Sanae's progress. "She managed more than the rest of us put together. And in half the time." Rikka offered a raised, open palm. "Nice job!" she said, as she exchanged a hi-five with Sanae. "Is it okay if I try a little bit?"

Yuuta presented Rikka with another loaned spoon of ice cream. She shrugged and took a cautious bite. "Mmm."

"I thought you didn't like milk," Yuuta said, helping himself to some more, Sanae pushing the dish more central before leaning back in an attempt to work some of the ice cream through. "You know ice cream has milk in it?"

"Do not assume I am completely ignorant of its origins," Sanae said. "Whatever divine ritual they use to make that foul whiteness palatable is good enough for the Mjolnir Hammer. And as you know, the milk is purely for strengthening purposes. Milk that tastes good must have multiple benefits."

"Ice cream warms the body up," Rikka remarked, licking her spoon. "Because it is cold, one's internal mechanisms have to counteract the cold. Perhaps you should eat some more, Yuuta. It might strengthen your internal fire."

Yuuta smiled, his voice dropping to a confidential level. "So it'll make us hot for later?"

Rikka pushed her own leg around Yuuta's, a small grin on her face. "It might well."

The footsie under the table got a little more earnest as they all finished as much as they were able.

* * *

When they were with each other again, later, the four of them all tasted like ice cream.

Rikka pulled back from a panting Sanae, her body fierce-hot under her, the girl's blonde hair pinned under both of them like a sheet. "I told you it would make us hot," Rikka said.

Sanae didn't respond. She pulled Rikka back down and coaxed the flushed girl's tongue back into her mouth. Beside them, Shinka and Yuuta were doing exactly the same, no further words needed.

Perhaps this was the best way to enjoy ice cream, after all.

* * *

The rest of the weekend passed in a blur. Monday morning came sooner than any of them would have wished.

The four chuunis found themselves in a tangled spread within the same cover they had been under for much of the weekend. Shinka opened a bleary eye into the dim morning, then turned to the alarm clock over on Sanae's side of the bed. _Well, it was Sanae's side. I might have to change that distinction if we all keep sleeping in it together._ It was nearly six in the morning. _Time to get up, I guess._ She suppressed a yawn, her eyes blinking groggily. From behind the curtains, an increasing amount of light was seeping into the room, diffuse over the prone forms of the others. Shinka took a moment to absorb the sight of them asleep. Sanae was clutching around Rikka's waist as they slept, the duvet pushed loose in the hot night; Yuuta was lying on his back next to Shinka, completely asleep. _I like this._ She allowed herself an embarrassed smile before reaching out a hand to quietly shake him awake.

"Hey," the boy murmured as he woke, reaching a hand up to his face to rub his eyes. "Mmmf. Shinka..."

"Sorry, Yuuta. It's time to get up."

He craned his neck from the pillow, eyeing the alarm clock on Sanae's sidetable. "It's early…"

The brunette nodded, hand slowly rubbing his shoulder. "Yeah, but this way we can wake up together in bed for a while. And more importantly, _not_ fall behind or be in a rush to school or miss it completely in favour of sleeping together." Shinka smiled weakly.

Yuuta allowed his head to slump back with a sigh. "That's going to be fun. Dealing with the fallout today. Still.. it was worth it. Right?"

"Yeah," Shinka said, "except for all the ways that it won't be."

The boy smiled. "Time to wake the others and put off our comeuppance, then."

He sat up in bed, slowly undertaking the same actions to wake Rikka, who attempted to pry herself drowsily from Sanae's sleeping grip as he shook her shoulder. "Mmmm," Rikka groaned. "Yuuta?" She blinked up at Sanae's ceiling, her eyes taking several seconds before squinting tiredly at him. "It's school today, isn't it," she asked, already knowing the answer.

"'Fraid so," Shinka whispered, bending down and kissing Rikka on the forehead, before making a move on the clinging blonde around Rikka's waist. "Wake up, my servant," Rikka pouted, as Shinka tried hard to get Sanae to wake up. "We have to go back to school today."

Sanae cautiously opened an eye, her shoulders stiff in a defense against Shinka's good intentions.. "School?" Her eye closed again, and her face screwed in displeasure. "Yeah, I remember. Hm, okay. I'll get up." Sanae slid a pair of sweaty arms from around Rikka's waist and sat up in bed, rubbing her face.

They woke up together slowly after that, their warm bodies comfortable pressed into each other, the lingering heat of the night turning into the late summer heat of the daytime. After not enough time, the inevitability of getting up fell over them, and the rituals of the morning began. Some minutes, tired actions, and mutual help later, the weary but satisfied lovers were dressed and presentable.

Sanae rushed down the steps in front of the rest, the younger girl now full of energy and a stark contrast to the others. Rikka, Shinka and Yuuta followed her, descending her house's staircase in the early sunlight. Shinka waited by the door as they kicked on shoes and hoisted bags, ushering them out of the house tiredly, pulling the door of Sanae's house closed behind them with a firm thud.

"Here goes nothing," she muttered, as she turned and locked the door behind them.

Yuuta yawned. The three-day weekend had been very pleasant, but he was _tired_. His feet moved by rote effort. He belatedly felt a warmth in his hand, Rikka timidly clutching his with hers. His fingers tightened back and he smiled at her. She gave him a thumbs-up, walking close by his side.

"Mmmm," he grumbled, "I'm so tired…"

"Don't fall asleep on me, Yuuta," Shinka growled, catching up and walking on his other side, keeping her arms arrow-straight by her sides. "We're already in enough trouble. If we walk into homeroom this morning and you pass out on us, I swear by _the Mabinogion,_ you'll feel it."

Yuuta stretched his eyelids as far as they would allow, in a vain effort to be more alert. "I'll try," he said, weary. "I seem to remember a certain someone keeping me up until two in the morning, though."

Shinka blushed, blood rising to her cheeks as she thought about Sanae's insistence on being Yuuta's last partner for the weekend. "Sanae is… impulsive. You should have told her to go to sleep."

"Right," Yuuta yawned, looking over at the girl, who was walking and conversing engagedly with Rikka, the twin-tail seemingly completely unaffected by their late night. He leaned across, conspiratorial. "Any more impulsive and I wouldn't have got _any_ sleep. Of course, Sanae is fine this morning. How does she have so much energy?"

A wry smile curled Shinka's mouth. "Are you really surprised? You've known Sanae for… over two years? I did warn you, Togashi. Sleep will become a luxury."

Yuuta shook his head, and tried not to focus on the intense ache between his thighs as he walked. "The three of you have managed to completely exhaust me."

He felt his hand being squeezed again, and he looked over at Rikka, the girl's face openly downcast. She had eschewed her eyepatch, again; Yuuta's eyes flicked over her expression, subconsciously tracing the usually-obscured area of her face.

"Sorry if we're too much work for you," Rikka said, her apology straight-laced and earnest, before her composure broke, and the corner of her mouth turned into a coy grin. "Well, I'm not really, Yuuta. I had a totally cool weekend with all of you. But I guess at school we'll have to… go back to how it was..."

A sigh came from their left, and the others looked, seeing Shinka's mouth turned thin. "Our clubroom has… _certain associations_ , now," she said, "but I don't know that I'm really ready to repeat what went on there last week again today.."

The sound of footsteps filled the air for a moment as everyone considered this.

"Yeah," Rikka volunteered, "considering we're totally in everyone's bad books for skipping school on Saturday, I guess it's not the best idea. I really had a great weekend with you all. But I don't want us to get walked in on doing those energy rituals together by our classmates or even underclassmen."

"Mmm," Shinka chewed it over. "Yeah. Having one underclassman in the club is enough already." (Sanae snorted derisively; Shinka shook her head, amused.) "I don't think getting found out having trysts in the clubroom is going to do us any favours."

Beside them, the blonde twintail looked over, face petulant with indignation. "This was never a problem for us before, in there, _Summer,_ " she scowled.

"Right, Sanae," came Shinka's even reply, "but given the circumstances of today, we should definitely not be chancing that kind of stuff."

"As you wish," Sanae muttered, mouth screwed up. "I guess we packed enough of the Acts Infernal into the weekend… but…" Dekomori tailed off. "I like making out at lunchtime, too," she finished, quickly.

Rikka glanced about, the streets still passably devoid of anyone they knew, and reached out and squeezed Sanae's hand for as long as she dared, hand quickly snapping back across the slight gap between them. A blush hit both their cheeks as Sanae closed her hand around where Rikka's fingers had been. "Come, my servant," Rikka said, her face pink. "We'll need to keep ourselves open for the liminal explorations of converging fates."

Dekomori nodded, seemingly instantly understanding Rikka's meaning. Shinka and Yuuta looked at each other, none the wiser.

* * *

As they reached the train, the morning was busy now, and the train trip - a little unusual, coming from Sanae's place straight to school, but not too dissimilar - took them near the place. Some more tired trudging up the hill, and they found themselves in the middle of the familiar school influx, underclassmen all around them as they made their way into the school grounds. Yuuta let go of Rikka's hand as they stopped. "We'll see you at lunchtime," Shinka said to Sanae, waving quickly as they had to split up for the morning, Sanae ultimately bound for her separate, second-year homeroom.

Sanae nodded. "See you later," she said, waving back, a brief hesitation in her goodbye before routine took over again, and she marched away into the crowd, falling in with a group of girls in her own year.

Nibutani took a deep breath, turning back around to the other two. "Let's see how bad this'll be," she said, her face betraying just what she expected, the short sleeves of her summer uniform doing very little to hide her unsteady hands and forearms.

Rikka looked uncertainly at her. "How bad could it be?"

* * *

Nanase-sensei was staring very intently at Rikka. Rikka was beginning to shrink back under the scrutiny, her toes curling in her stiff indoor shoes as the educator's rapt look refused to deflect from her.

Shinka looked slowly at Yuuta and raised an eyebrow. He moved his shoulder a fraction back. _About as much idea as you._

Yuuta tried speaking to break the awkwardness in the staff room. "Ah, you wanted to see us, Nanase-sensei?"

Nanase's eyes flipped up at him from her wordless interrogation of Rikka, her intense expression turning immediately into a cheerful smile.

"Thank you Togashi, sorry, I was just admiring Takanashi's face."

Yuuta's mouth flapped. "...what?"

The teacher frowned. "Well, Takanashi," Nanase explained, "you were just not wearing your usual," she gestured over her face where her eye was, "your usual… _accessory?_ It suits you, I just thought."

Rikka began to stammer, "U-Um, thank you?"

Nanase smiled cheerfully. "Is there some occasion? Did your friends talk you into trying something new?"

Shinka rubbed her neck. "Ehh… after a manner of speaking, I guess you could say that."

Their supervisor looked at Shinka, the brown-haired girl desperately trying hard to keep a straight face and confident demeanour, feeling like Nanase could immediately see through her. Judging by how the teacher's eyes looked… amused _?_ _Yeah, we're definitely rumbled,_ Shinka thought.

Nanase shook her head. "Well, glad to see it working for you, Takanashi. Your eyes look very vivid without the patch, such a lovely shade of teal! Whatever has you in this new look, I think it suits you very well."

Rikka nodded, hand going to reflexively cover her face, before Shinka caught it and lowered it back to her side. Rikka looked awkwardly away. Nibutani's fingertips felt warm on her forearm. Shinka realised the display, and pulled her hand back quickly "Thank you," Rikka just about managed in response. "Nanase-sensei. I mean, thank you."

The teacher looked at the three of them again, more serious now, referring to a paper on the desk. "So, about your absences on Saturday… I just need to take down a reason. Especially since all of you were off at once! It's your senior year. You can't be taking days off when you feel like it at such a crucial stage of your school career."

Shinka shook her head. "We know. Sorry, we just went over to a friend's house in the evening and and then on Saturday, none of us could get out of bed." Nibutani tried desperately not to let heat enter her cheeks, folding her arms. "It must have been the food."

"Sick, were you? I hope you are all okay now," Nanase offered.

"Yeah, our friend is not a good cook, we all came down with the same thing."

"Well, just don't make it a habit, okay?" Nanase shook her head. "I'll get in trouble if my students start causing problems." She gave them all one final look over, eyes looking at Rikka for one last lingering moment, Rikka looking desperately sidelong. "Well, I hope you all have fun working hard this week. I'll be here in the staff room if you need me for anything else."

"Very good; thank you, sensei," Yuuta replied, and the three of them sidled out of the room as quickly as was polite.

The three of them walked quickly down the corridor, away from the faculty office. Once they were out of earshot, Shinka shook her head, letting out a heavy suppressed sigh. "I don't know that she _entirely_ believed us."

Yuuta blew out his cheeks, chuckling awkwardly. "At least she didn't press it," he said. "That was really not quite as bad as I was expecting."

Rikka shook her head. "It's okay for you two. I didn't think not wearing my eyepatch would be a problem for her…"

Shinka shook her head. "I think she was pleased, Rikka." Rikka looked uncertainly at Shinka, met by Nibutani's encouraging smile. The taller girl leant down quickly to speak in Rikka's ear. "Honestly, it's nice to be able to look into your eyes," Shinka whispered.

Rikka's face was pink for the rest of the journey back to homeroom.

* * *

The three of them entered a relatively empty homeroom. One of their classmates raised an eyebrow as they walked in together.

"Did you have a nice weekend," she called over as they sat down at their desks; Yuuta stole a glance at Shinka, the expression in her eyes summing aptly what he was thinking. _Kazari Kannagi. Kazari, the insatiable gossip. Ah, shit._

Perhaps Nanase's interrogation was going to seem like the easy part after the next few minutes.

Shinka swallowed, putting on a long-practiced charming smile and waving. "Good morning, Kazari! Sorry not to be here on Saturday. We were all sick," she offered. "We couldn't make it in. Did we miss anyth-"

"Sick _together?_ " Kazari interrupted, a look of interest on her face now. "How simply scandalous."

"It really isn't," Yuuta quickly chimed in. "We all just got chewed out by the club supervisor for missing the half-day."

Kazari raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She stood up from her own desk, walking over to where the three were sat. "So, like… were you _actually_ sick? Cause I heard from a friend she saw you all walking about downtown on Saturday morning, you three and the second-year you hang around with, apparently being all chummy with each other-"

"Each of us spent quite a large part of Saturday in bed. It must have been a case of mistaken identity," Shinka said, teeth gritted, eyes hard. _Please, Kazari, just drop it._ "This isn't a story, or an anime, or something. Real life is much less interesting than you imagine."

Kazari's look was smug. "I'm sure."

Rikka attempted to help, opening her mouth to speak, before Kazari immediately changed tack, seizing on the same thing Nanase had. "Oh, Rikka! You decided not to wear your…" She gestured around her correlating eye with an open hand. "Your…"

Rikka nodded sagely, deciding to press the advantage. "The containment for the powers of the Tyrant's Eye have proved unnecessary after the weekend drained our powers," Rikka said. "Consequently it was not required to wear such an item to school this morning. Nor can I foresee it being returned in the immediate future. If it proves again necessary I am sure you will comment on it then."

Kazari blinked, somewhat wrongfooted by Rikka's immediate outpouring of chuunibyou. "Uhm, okay? It suits you, Rikka."

Shinka allowed herself a breath. _Kazari might think she knows everything but chuunibyou can still dumbfound her._

"Many people have said this already," Rikka smiled awkwardly. "Thank you, Kazari."

"No problem," Kazari smiled, her eyes still focused on the other two. "Well, it's good to have you back. Let's hope you last a whole week, right?"

Yuuta nodded. "Wouldn't miss it," he muttered.

* * *

Lunchtime took an age to arrive. Hours, in fact. Hours that dragged… and dragged. Yuuta avoided falling asleep, though at points, only just.

Rikka scooped her books into her bag, her textbooks landing unceremoniously at the bottom as usual. She stood up, looking expectantly at Yuuta and Shinka. "Clubroom?"

"Shinka and I will go and find some food," her boyfriend suggested. They hadn't been back at his place since Saturday; no opportunity to make a boxed lunch for everyone today, though it had honestly slipped his mind. "We'll find you in the clubroom in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Rikka said, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. "Don't be slow; I am honestly really hungry." She smiled and span away, walking out of the door with the other students eager to break for lunch.

Shinka was about to speak, catching Kazari's eye as she left the classroom, replacing what she had been about to say with a polite smile. Kazari smirked back and walked out of the door.

"Let's give her a minute," Shinka suggested, shaking her head.

"Yeah," Yuuta said. "Wait, why? Do you need to talk?"

She waited for the classroom door to slide shut, then lightly touched Yuuta's arm. "Yeah. But I mean talk, rather than make out."

Yuuta put his right hand over hers and squeezed the sides of her hand. "What's up?" he asked.

Shinka hesitated. "What's going on with Rikka?"

Yuuta thought for a few moments. "... the same stuff that the rest of us are dealing with?"

Shinka gestured vaguely around her eye. "I meant the eyepatch thing, idiot. She's had enough comments about it today. I just wanted to ask you if you think it was upsetting her or making her uncomfortable."

Yuuta blinked. "I don't think so? She and I talked about it at the weekend-"

"You did?" Shinka said, quickly.

"Yeah," he continued, "not 'cause we were hiding away, per se, but it was when we were getting dressed together, it came up. Rikka seems pretty sanguine about it - well, apart from Nanase staring at her for two minutes straight today. That made _me_ uncomfortable, let alone Rikka. Maybe Rikka's a little uncertain about it, but I don't think she's distressed."

Shinka chewed a lip, dropping her voice. "If we're all in love with each other, aren't we supposed to be sharing these kinds of things?"

The boy opposite sighed. "Sorry. Like I said, it came up, we weren't trying to make a thing of it. I didn't think it was worrisome enough to share. Besides, she's acting how she is now because of the… relationship expansion."

"Alright." Shinka looked away. "I was just worried about her, okay?"

Yuuta smiled wryly. "I heard you at the weekend. If you two are in love, ask her yourself if she's okay, Shinka."

Shinka blanched, scowling as she stood up. "Yeah, helpful attitude, Yuuta."

Contrition crossed his face and he flung his hands up in apology. "Hey - sorry, okay? I didn't mean it to come off like that. Look, we'll all help each other out now, I guess. If we get into a habit of talking about stuff behind each other's backs, it won't be sustainable."

Shinka dropped her shoulders, the tension leaving her. "Okay. You're right, this is new. I guess Kazari just put me in a bad mood." Her eyes shot to the door, before she looked back at Yuuta, and her eyes softened. "I'm sorry to snap at you. I appreciate you answering me, Yuuta." She kissed him furtively on the cheek, before hoisting her bag. "Let's get some food and catch up with the others."

* * *

Yuuta placed a handful of wrapped breads on the kotatsu as Shinka slid the door shut behind them. "Take your pick."

Rikka nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, Yuuta. And Shinka."

"No problem," the boy offered. "Wait. Are you _chewing gum?"_

His girlfriend pouted, working her mouth and chewing it tentatively. "I was hungry…" Rikka said, "and Sanae had some in her bag. Besides, it was a recommendation, right?"

The blonde girl to the side of her grinned impishly as she continued to write on what looked to be some math homework. "Just trying to be helpful, Dark Flame Master."

Yuuta chopped Rikka softly on the forehead. "Don't do it for my sake, okay? You'll have to spit it out before you eat. We can't have you choking on us."

"Is that likely?" Rikka asked, surprised.

"No," Yuuta admitted, "unless you try eating lunch and chewing gum at the same time."

The chuuni put a hand to her stomach as she felt how hungry she was. "Real food sounds better anyway." Rikka began to poke through the bread Yuuta had put on the table. "Is it alright to have this one?"

"Sure, might as well let the fussy eater pick first."

Rikka smiled, retreating with her chosen package. "Thanks."

Shinka picked two at random, not particularly having a preference from the ones she and Yuuta had bought. She threw one in Sanae's lap, earning a grunt for the effort. "Thanks," Sanae said, not looking up.

"I can't believe you are doing your homework at lunchtime," Shinka complained.

"Why not?" the blonde girl asked, still continuing to write down answers. "I don't want to do it later when we could all be doing… other things. If we have to behave at school, I might as well use the time to get the boring stuff done."

Shinka tore open her bread. "That's not a bad line of thought, actually."

The next few minutes were filled more with eating than talking. Rikka wasted no time in laying into hers, chewing it avidly, staring at the centre after a few mouthfuls. "It's not as nice as your lunches, Yuuta," she remarked.

Nibutani raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you made Rikka's lunches."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck, absently. "Yeah. Meals at home, too, I guess. It's never anything special, mind, usually just rice and a side."

Rikka shook her head, then realised perhaps swallowing first was more prudent, her mouth full of bread. "Your food is really good, Yuuta," she smiled, earnestly. "Between you and Shinka, I think we lucked out. Two good cooks can keep us very happy on that front."

Yuuta looked over at Shinka. "Fancy putting _house husband_ and _house wife_ on our career forms? Nanase would have a meltdown."

"Very funny." Shinka rolled her eyes. "Sanae would love that kind of relationship."

"The rule of the Mjolnir Hammer would be crushing, but benevolent," Sanae suggested.

Shinka shook her head. "Not a chance." Her eyes fixed back on Yuuta. "We'll have to start persuading you to make our lunches, too, then. I must admit I always thought Rikka's looked good."

Yuuta had to laugh. "I could do that, sure. Kazari would just _love_ to see us eating the same lunch. Maybe we should do it just to mess with her."

Nibutani shrugged. "Kazari can go swing. Bonus points if you put extra tomato in Rikka's lunch so she can hand-feed it to the rest of us."

"I think you are cool and that sounds fun," Rikka said, her ears turning pink, "but putting tomato in my lunch… That's a big ask even for you, Mori Summer."

Shinka smiled widely. "I'm just teasing you. Tomato or no, a handmade lunch would be nice. Bread is okay, but it's pretty boring."

Yuuta chewed. "We'll have to shop if we're going to do that. Frankly our food management has been pretty poor for catering for four people in one place. We would do well to actually buy enough food to make real meals together."

"That's fine," Shinka said, "we could go shopping later, going together sounds fun. Sanae will pay."

"How presumptuous," the referenced girl scowled.

Shinka swallowed the last of her lunch. "I'm not wrong though."

"I would be happy to use my material assets to ease our quartet's path through the maelstrom of logistics," Sanae said, very seriously. "Especially if we got lunches out of it."

"It sounds like a plan, then," Yuuta said.

"Whilst immediately retreating to my house once school is over and holing up in bed for the subsequent six hours sounds preferable," Dekomori suggested, "I guess we do actually need to make a routine for the despicably mundane. Shopping, school work, cooking…" She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "So many demands on what could otherwise be profitable time for the ritual of lovers."

"Being together isn't just about sex," Shinka said, dropping her voice to a confidential level, before a smile broke onto her face. "Well, it is pretty good," she admitted. "But it's not why we wanted this. We can spend time with each other as people, too."

"I didn't say we couldn't," Sanae pouted, folding her arms, "just meant that I really like that stuff with you."

"I don't think any of us feel otherwise," Rikka said, smiling. "We got enough into the weekend to prove that."

A heat crossed Sanae's cheeks as she thought about the many such occasions in the last forty-eight hours. "Yeah. It would just be nice if chores did themselves, is what I meant."

"In the absence of magic," Yuuta started, earning a scowl from Rikka and Sanae, before he immediately waved a hand, and clarified - "Figure of speech… In the absence of anyone coming to do our chores, I guess lunchtimes are turning into work time." He sighed, pulling over his bag, reaching into it and pulling out some of the work he had to do. "I guess there's no time like the present."

Rikka looked downcast. "Yeah…"

Shinka smiled as the realisation hit her. "This is too funny," she said, "If Kazari asks what's going on between us, the true and factual answer I can give her is that we're now a _study group_?" She laughed as she parceled out her own books onto the table, moving next to Sanae. "Well, I guess it works."

Across from her, the blue-haired girl had opened a textbook and was looking at it with one eye closed, face screwed up as she started to read.

"What are you doing, Rikka?" Shinka asked, bemused.

Rikka looked up, and slowly opened the eye that she had screwed shut; the same eye that she had recently unbandaged. She hesitated, before deciding to come clean. "Well, just... it's hard to focus on the words with this eye. They're all blurry."

A concerned look crossed Nibutani's face. "You can't read properly?" She quickly looked sidelong at the others, who were both looking at Rikka with similar expressions. "Do you think wearing that eyepatch for so long made your eyesight weaker?"

Rikka shrugged, looking around the room. "Maybe? I can see most stuff fine. The window and the table and you and the book. Just the words are hard…" The girl looked at Nibutani, experimentally opening and closing alternate eyes, trying to contrast and compare the outlook. "I guess maybe there is a difference." She blinked, as if it would restore her vision. Shinka couldn't help but think it was a cute, if optimistic, gesture.

Yuuta shook his head. "I'll add 'Taking you to the optometrist' to the list of chores."

Rikka pouted. "But Yuuta, it might get better? By itself?"

"And this homework might do itself," Yuuta said. "I'll help you arrange it when we get back, later. It can always get cancelled if it does sort itself out, okay?"

Rikka fiddled with her pen. "...Okay," she agreed. "I was struggling with it in class, honestly."

"I was going to ask you about it," Shinka said, "to say that you didn't have to take it off just for us, but if it's affecting your eyes, maybe it's a decision I could get behind."

"I didn't do it because of that," Rikka said, "It was my choice. But as you say, maybe it's for the best."

Conflict stormed on Sanae's face, her immediate urge to defend her master's power fighting against a more rational concern for her. "I didn't know maintaining the power of the Tyrant's Eye took such a huge toll on you, Master," she said, somewhat struck.

"Apparently it did," Rikka said, nodding. "Don't worry yourself, my servant. There are other ways to bind the power in the future that don't involve the obscuration of the visual." She looked at the bandages that wrapped her left forearm, before making a fist, holding it up before Dekomori. "You see, the unholy bindings are still present in some degree. Many such bindings could even prove more effective than the previous one."

"That sounds like regret," Yuuta observed.

"That would not be totally incorrect," Rikka said, downcast.

The boy shook his head in mild despair. "Don't worry, okay? I'm sure it'll be easy enough to correct. You'll just have to do your best for the next week or so."

"In the meantime, Yuuta," Rikka said, her voice in that pleading, cutely desperate tone - "maybe you could give me the math answers whilst you work through them…"

* * *

Rikka and Yuuta walked out into the front of the store. Sanae jumped to her feet, hands balled together in the centre of her chest in a display of nervous energy. Shinka stood up somewhat more sedately. "How was it," she asked.

"Fine," Rikka said, shrugging. "I got given some eye exercises to do and some eye drops. If that won't fix it, they told me to come back." Yuuta brandished a sheet of paper with printed diagrams on it; then from his pocket, three or four more. Sanae's demeanour calmed instantly. "Diagrams of power; I understand," she marvelled.

"Having to explain to the optometrist the cause of it was pretty fun," Yuuta said. "I tried to translate from Chuunibyoic to Japanese."

"Yeah," Rikka smiled, "you were very helpful." She kissed him on the cheek, before Sanae was impatiently clutching at her hand and leading her away, babbling about "Bureau-influenced medics". Rikka smiled at the others as she went.

"Sanae will want to do these as well," Yuuta sighed.

Shinka smiled. "Probably. I don't think it will hurt to let her."

* * *

Sanae groaned in pain. "Owww…"

Yuuta looked over at her. The girl had cut herself seconds after starting to chop the vegetables.

"Foolish radishes, conspiring to take down a member of the esoteric hierarchy," she was mumbling.

"Are you alright?" Yuuta called.

She turned to him, her face sullen, holding up a finger with a widening crimson line across the end. "The salad did this to me. What do you think, Yuuta?"

" _The knife_ did that to you. Radishes can only hurt the allergic," Shinka said, taking Sanae's hand and guiding her to the sink, the tap coming on to wash off the blood. "You are such a klutz. Keep your finger under here and I'll bring some paper towel."

"But we could-"

"No blood pacts," Shinka said.

Sanae furrowed her brow. "Fine."

Rikka spared a glance at the quickly-abandoned chopping board to her left. "I don't see any blood. I think the food is okay."

A sigh escaped Shinka's lips as she wrapped Sanae's finger in a paper towel. "It didn't immediately bleed through. Keep this pressed against your finger whilst we finish up, alright?"

The blonde girl pouted. "It hurts…"

"Come on, aren't you supposed to be a mighty warrior? A little cut should be nothing." Shinka kissed her on the forehead and went to finish Sanae's part of the prep.

Rikka smiled as Shinka rejoined her, leaning over in a confidential whisper. "My servant is clearly doing something right when she gets us to do everything for her."

Shinka shook her head. "She might be clever but this stuff is beyond her."

* * *

Sanae's eyes went wide as Yuuta put her lunch in front of her on the clubroom's heated table. "I guess it was worth being injured for," she remarked, almost salivating at the sight of the food. Rice, vegetables, some katsu chicken from yesterday… it looked good. She beamed at Yuuta. "Have I told you that I love you?"

"Multiple times," Shinka smiled, cracking the lid off her own food. "This does look good though."

Rikka was quietly pleased to see there was no tomato in hers. "Thanks for the food, everyone," she said. "A real team effort."

The four of them stared at the makeshift bedding in front of them, four futons pushed together on the floor, Yuuta's bed at the side of the room stripped for the pillows and covers.

"It doesn't look as bad as I expected," Shinka remarked.

"No," Rikka agreed, "we need a bigger duvet, though. Four single ones isn't very fun."

"Little steps," Yuuta sighed. "This is the best we can do, here."

Sanae tested one with a bare foot. "Deplorably unspringy," she complained. "Can't even jump on them…"

"You're welcome to sleep outside on the balcony if you'd prefer," Yuuta muttered, earning a snort from Nibutani.

"No need," the blonde girl sighed, "these will be sufficient."

In the end, only two of the futons got any use, even though sleep was hours later.

* * *

The bell rang and the four of them separated at the clubroom door, bound for different parts of the school. Sanae darted off with the usual enthusiasm. Rikka, Shinka and Yuuta began walking more sensibly up the corridor to their next class.

"Watch out, trouble ahead," Yuuta muttered, sighting a certain dark-haired girl walking towards them.

Shinka forced a smile as that person caught up, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Kazari," she nodded her head, stiffly.

Kazari gave a cheerful wave, her own smile completely genuine, almost a smirk. "Hey, you three. How was lunch together?"

Yuuta shrugged. "Alright."

Kazari tipped him a wink. "I bet it was. Well, can't stop, class and all. See you!"

She moved past them, dark hair disappearing into the crowd.

"If she ever catches on, God help us," Shinka said quietly.

* * *

"Where are the others?"

The boy shrugged, opening his lunch whilst Rikka's and Sanae's sat where he had placed them. "Rikka said she and her servant had some _ethereal business,_ just before she ran off."

"Eh?" Shinka made a face. "Well, I guess chuuni is as chuuni does… do you think they just snuck off to make out?"

Yuuta lowered the forkful of rice he was about to eat. "I don't think so. Rikka looked pretty serious, so who knows what they are up to."

Shinka lazily broke up some of her own lunch into pieces as they sat and idly wondered.

After a few minutes of lunchtime, a flushed-looking master and servant barrelled in through the door, short of breath. "Hello again," Sanae panted.

Yuuta tipped Shinka a wink. "Alright, never mind, maybe they were."

"Were what?" Rikka asked, throwing her bag by the door and sitting down next to them.

"You mean you hadn't just snuck off to kiss or something?" Shinka asked, her tone a little petulant. "You're all flushed and sweaty."

Rikka shook her head. "My servant and I were embarking on another kind of important endeavour."

Nibutani was mildly frustrated. "Which was…?"

"You'll find out soon enough, _Summer_ ," Sanae said, clapping Shinka on the back as she moved to sit down.

"Jerk," Shinka said, pulling Sanae off-track directly into her lap, the blonde girl landing askance with Shinka's arms around her. "What th-" Further reaction from Sanae was immediately muffled by Shinka's lips, as she delivered a fierce kiss to the smaller girl.

Sanae pulled back after a few moments, looking away as her tongue ran over her lips. "You taste like rice."

"And you're all horrible and sweaty," Shinka bemoaned, using a hand to turn Sanae's face back before kissing her again, the girl in her lap moaning slightly as their kiss resumed. Sanae was somehow becoming still more flush in the face, her hands grabbing Shinka's blouse collar before she had to break away for air. "Satisfied?"

It was Shinka's turn to look away. "Sorry. I must be getting too used to having you around. Sitting here with Yuuta, I guess I'd just convinced myself that you had snuck off together."

Rikka shook her head. "I care too much about you all to try and hide if we're doing that kind of stuff." The tips of her ears turned pink. "It's better when we're all together."

Shinka relinquished her grasp on her girlfriend, the small chuuni reluctant to move away. "Alright, I forgive you, my little warrior. Come on, your hard-earned lunch is getting warm."

"Okay," Sanae pouted, squeezing Shinka's hand as she pushed off her lap, sitting next to Shinka and lunging across the table to pull her lunch across towards the two of them.

"Classy," Shinka remarked, drily.

Rikka pushed closer into Yuuta's side as she opened her own food.

* * *

The four of them had reconvened in the clubroom. It was the end of the day, club time. It had started nobly, but their homework had been put aside for now as Shinka and Sanae had succumbed to resuming their tryst from lunchtime. Sanae was on top of Shinka now, their bare thighs rubbing together where exposed, between their socks and skirts. The pair had gone back to kissing

"I thought we agreed not to do this kind of thing during the school day," Yuuta complained, watching Shinka pull Sanae forward, their hands disappearing under each other's waistband.

"Yuuta," Rikka pined, her pencil skirting slowly to a stop along the answer to the problem on her homework sheet. Her eyes tried hard to look away from Sanae's hand gripping the edge of the heated table, fingers shaking.

"Can we..." Rikka pouted, her face frustrated. "Please, Yuuta, I can't watch them without doing anything... I need it, too..."

"So much for being productive so we could do this later," Yuuta sighed. He moved over to Rikka, who was still sat cross-legged at the table. He sat behind her, getting a good view of the girls making out next to them over her shoulder. Yuuta's lips brushed the back of Rikka's neck and she shivered.

Beside them, the two girls were panting into each others' mouths as their hands moved unseen.

"Please," Rikka whined. "I…"

His hand slipped up under the front of shirt, her back pressing into his chest. Rikka leaned into him as she enjoyed his touch, humming lightly as she felt his fingers. Yuuta continued kissing the back of her neck and sent his other hand down under her skirt, her panties yielding quickly to him. Yuuta gasped as his fingers touched her; she was hot and wet, Rikka gasping too as she felt him make contact.

"You really liked watching, huh," he said, quietly, dragging his lips on her neck. "To be fair, I can understand why. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't turned on either."

Rikka was biting her lip, trying not to moan as Yuuta touched her down there, her hands balling in her skirt as her boyfriend caressed her in a completely pleasurable way. Her thighs began to slowly slip open, Rikka pushing herself into the source of the feeling.

Shinka was pulling Sanae firmly into her embrace, the pair at the table watching as everyone's faces were flushed. The motion of the girls' exposed wrists was telling a story beneath the clothes. Yuuta felt the crimson heat crossing his face and he pressed his cheek into Rikka's, the girl mewling as he moved his hand more over her core, the wet motion of his finger causing her to blink in pleasure. He sighed, his erection pressing into Rikka's soft butt. Desire had won out against being circumspect.

"We are so going to get caught doing this," he breathed, before Rikka turned her face and put a hand to the back of his head, pushing her tongue into his mouth so words became lost.

The lovers on the floor were breathing heavy, when they deemed breaking off their kiss necessary in favour of air. "Ah, we've been good this week," Shinka panted, her mouth wet from kissing Sanae, "we just have to not get caught." Her opinion dispensed, Nibutani pulled a flushed girlfriend back in, Sanae's tongue immediately pressing again into her mouth, hand wrapped up Sanae's soft back.

Rikka caught Yuuta's wrist as he began to move more firmly in time with her rocking hips, and he stopped. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, confused.

"No," Rikka whined, "no, I don't, but I want us to feel good together- I don't want to come just from you touching me, if you think we can… you know..."

"Yeah," Yuuta panted, "yeah, Rikka, I need it too." He kissed her neck again, still behind her, the blue-haired chuuni tilting her head aside as she enjoyed his hot mouth on her skin. Yuuta kissed his way down her soft exposed neck, hand now moving slower under her skirt, drenched in her wetness.

"How do you want it, Rikka," he murmured, between contacts on her neck.

"I want you inside me," she replied, lips peaked open.

"I know that," Yuuta rolled his eyes, a smile flitting across his face. "I mean, like… Here, I know. Lean forwards over the kotatsu a little, okay?"

Rikka pushed herself up on her knees, gasping as the motion of her hips allowed Yuuta's long middle finger to glide over her clit, sending a shock through her, her inner thighs trembling.

"This is why I thought the table might be useful," Yuuta breathed, impatient now. "Rest on it a bit, okay?"

Yuuta pulled his hand up out of Rikka's panties, using the same hand to move unseen under Rikka's skirt. He pulled her damp panties to the side, desperately fumbling with his own underwear with the other hand, trying his best to co-ordinate things. After a moment he was ready, and with Rikka's panties slipped aside, he lined himself up against her inviting wetness, and slipped inside her in a single motion.

His girlfriend moaned, before shoving a hand in her mouth and clamping her lips around her fingers, as she felt Yuuta slip easily inside her, her arousal meeting his in a single point of wetness and heat. His length inside her was so hard and warm and _hot_. Yuuta groaned as he felt himself enter her, the prolonged foreplay and visual stimulation of their other lovers leaving them both extremely ready and willing.

Yuuta slipped a hand back around Rikka's breast, her bra pulled down now under her school blouse, his other returning to Rikka's core, rubbing her gently up and down as he moved effortlessly within her. He was trying his very best to be quiet as he felt himself covered in Rikka's warmth and wetness, managing only quiet groans at the sensation. Rikka's insides were amazingly soft as usual, caressing him completely and so enticingly.

"You feel so good, Rikka," Yuuta breathed, the girl melting in his hands.

"So do you, Yuuta," Rikka moaned, her eyelids low, her look lustful. "Let's come for each other," she smiled, pressing her lips to his, beginning another kiss as they coupled.

After a few moments, their motions harmonised, Rikka's hips rolling back and forth against the table balanced by Yuuta's own thrusting; the two found a satisfactory rhythm, beginning the real pleasure in earnest. Yuuta pulled Rikka deeper into their kiss, letting out his affirmations of pleasure directly into the back of her throat as their faces touched. He could feel the heat in her cheeks radiating directly into his own. _It must be the same for her._

Shinka panted, Sanae's fingers inside her as they kissed just as passionately as the others.. Shinka's legs tightened involuntarily as Sanae worked, her skirt conveying an undue sense of modesty to their affairs. Sanae worked at her girlfriend hungrily, her fingers not at all letting up as their tongues met wetly. They steadily touched each other as their faces pressed close, their need and pleasure in the touches unceasing, the slight smell of each other's sweat and slight perfume mixing, intoxicating.

"Ah," Sanae moaned, her fingers turning unsteady like her legs, the girl struggling to keep it together. "Yes, Shinka, please, more, please," the girl whined, "I'm getting close-"

Shinka's own lips parted in desire as she heard the words, Sanae's shaky fingers still eliciting her own end. "Mmmf, me too," she panted, "I want to kiss when we do, okay?"

Sanae nodded erratically, Shinka's fingers on her sensitive part merciless and unceasing.

Rikka moaned, the full and pleasurable feeling of Yuuta moving inside her combined with his fingers, and his mouth, the sounds of the others; her arms began to give way against the kotatsu. Her torso was flush now with the table as Yuuta began to move more quickly inside her, his weight over her back, arms wrapped around her chest and waist. She was wrapped in him, every sense filled with his need for her, and it was too much.

The wet lewd noise of the girls' joint motions met with the moans of all four participants in the room and the slight shaking noise of the kotatsu under Rikka and Yuuta, the combination hastening everyone's end.

Rikka could feel the tell-tale signs of her orgasm building, and she cried out in pleasure. "Yuuta, I'm gonna- I'm gonna cu-uh-"

The sensation between her legs was peaking, her attempts at speech cut short by the ascent, the only thing able to be focused on was the imminent waves of pleasure-

Rikka's body began to writhe, and words being lost, she kissed her boyfriend, and came. She had been so aroused and hot; she came hard. Cries met convulsions as her hips rocked under her boyfriend's body, even now his fingers and hardness moving over and within her, drawing out the sensation, her body coming around him. Her torso and limbs shook as the pleasure began to shoot through her in waves, the high feeling leaving her flushed and shaking and sucking Yuuta's tongue and then it was over, Rikka panting on the kotatsu, moaning as the last radiant pleasure was still moving through her, the afterglow arriving just in time to feel Yuuta finish inside her.

"Rikka, I'm-" and then he came too, his own orgasm no less strong, throed or long than Rikka's. She hummed in joy, grinning as she felt him finish inside her, the warmth of his fluid spreading inside her as he came. Rikka gripped him tighter with a conscious effort, squeezing him as he came, his suppressed cries of orgasm turning ragged as she wrung him out. He fell against her back, Rikka pushing her hands behind her to take his, the two lovers panting heavily as they half-lay on the low table, connected in multiple ways.

The sight and sound had been too much for the girls locked together on the floor. Sanae had peaked after hearing Rikka come, her own orgasm shuddering and wet, damp sweaty thighs pressing desperately together around Shinka's long fingers as she finished, the blonde girl's hair and tongue and face pressed into Shinka's. Nibutani was quick behind, letting out her own quiet cries of ecstasy moments later as she felt Sanae come on top of her, the shaking of Sanae's body against hers enough to tip her over the edge as she tried desperately to be quiet about it, her best effort a quiet, shaking series of gasps and whimpers that went directly into Sanae's mouth.

It was done, the room filled with silence except for the desperate, hot breathing of four post-coital lovers.

"Hah… haah.. I can't.. I can't think, Yuuta," Rikka panted, "that was… that was so good…"

"Yeah," Yuuta gasped, "that was amazing, Rikka... "

Shinka struggled to get words out through the rise and fall of her own chest. "Yeah, that was… that was great, Sanae… I love you…"

"I love you too, Shinka, ah," Sanae breathed, struggling to rise up before giving her a kiss on the forehead. The blonde girl sat back on her haunches, hair messy, face flushed and sweaty, her arms shaking. "And you two, too," Sanae said, earnestly, at her lovers together still on the kotatsu: "all of you helped…"

"Mmmm," Rikka hummed, "yeah, watching you was… really hot…"

Yuuta sat back, his erection still inside Rikka, still enjoying her warmth and softness even though he was beginning to recede. Eventually he pulled back and out of her, pulling Rikka's panties back into place, stowing himself away too. "Once we all catch our breath, I think we need to wind down together, if we can get away with it."

Shinka blew out her cheeks, air rushing through her lips. "I might need a minute... Sanae… ugh. I'm thinking about more and I only just came for you. We're totally doing that again when we get home."

A devious smile crossed Sanae's face, and she kissed Shinka's cheek, before whispering a few words into Shinka's ear. Yuuta and Rikka watched as Shinka's legs clamped together and the girl moaned involuntarily at whatever Sanae was saying. "That's _not_ fair," Shinka said at the end, tone terse.

"What did my servant say?" Rikka said, confused.

"Nothing we can do here," Nibutani said, sharply, "though I desperately want to, now. God, I hope winding me up to the point of needing to cum again straight away isn't going to be a regular thing before we go home." She looked at Sanae, defeated. "I love you but that was _mean_."

Sanae's face fell, her expression apologetic. "Sorry." Shinka shook her head. "No, it sounded good. Just too good." She smiled, defeated. "Really, too good."

Sanae glanced at the clock; they had been here for half an hour. "Will you be alright on the way home?" she asked Shinka, bottom lip in her teeth as she stared at her, concerned.

"Nope," Shinka admitted, faux-cheery, forcing a wide smile. "It'll hurt. Your fault."

Sanae turned her head to the other two and looked at the table. "Can you.. Both of you… help me, then?"

"Help you do what?" Yuuta asked, incredulous.

"Help get her off," Sanae said, tremulous.

Shinka started. "Wait, hold on-"

Sanae was up on unsteady knees, pulling Shinka back to the kotatsu. "Sit," she commanded.

Shinka was mentally tossing up desire with being circumspect. _Again._ Desire won out. She sat down.

"Put your legs under the cover," Sanae commanded, before looking up at the two flushed lovers next to them. "You'll need to move. If you can deal with her topside, I'll do the rest." With that, Sanae crawled under the fabric flap of the low table.

Yuuta crawled away as requested, Rikka pulling her legs from under the table as Sanae pushed past her feet.

"What is she-" Shinka said, before feeling her girlfriend's hands grasp her hips, impatient fingers tugging at her panties. Her face became embarrassed. "I mean, I wasn't really expecting- Sanae-" A few moments later, her underwear pulled down, Shinka becoming very grateful she was wearing a skirt.

Then she felt Sanae's tongue hit her still-wet core, and she let out a soft, shuddering moan.

"Oh, God," she cried, composure slumping, her body falling over the table like Rikka's had.

Yuuta smiled as he watched Sanae's lower legs kick the floor, the only part of her visible peeking out of the table's edge. "That's actually pretty clever."

Shinka was breathing raggedly, Sanae's grip around her hips a vice as the girl's tongue moved unseen over her, moving hard and fast with the express goal of getting her off.

Rikka squeezed Yuuta's hand. "Let's go help," she said, before crawling over to behind Shinka, kissing Shinka's neck like she had just been enjoying. Shinka shuddered as she felt Rikka's hands surround her, her breathing turning into a succession of low, involuntary soft moans. Yuuta blinked as Rikka's hands slipped under Shinka's shirt. _Just what did Sanae say to her?_

He crawled over to where the three girls were tangled, Rikka pulling Shinka up and back as she heard him approach. Nibutani's face was a mess, her eyes lidded heavy as she gasped in pleasure.

"Ah… don't bother, Yuuta," Shinka moaned, "just shut up and kiss me…"

Yuuta pushed his mouth against hers, the girl moaning as their tongues rubbed together, Rikka's hands and Sanae's own tongue eliciting deeper noises as the seconds went by. Rikka rubbed her skin, one hand pulling down Shinka's bra and working softly with her breasts as she pressed her own into Shinka's back. After barely two minutes, Shinka pushed one hand into Yuuta's hair and the other into Sanae's, shaking and shuddering as the combined efforts of the other three brought her to a second, swift climax.

"Ah, I'm coming-g-"

Shinka's hips began to buck again, this time her thighs clamping around Sanae's hidden head, trying her best not to force Sanae's head against the underside of the table. Shinka convulsed in Rikka's arms, her jaw falling slack as she desperately tried to push her tongue to the back of Yuuta's mouth, their kiss wet and messy like her climax.

Then, it was done, and with a final kiss, Sanae crawled back out from under the kotatsu, blinking in the light again, triumphantly wiping her mouth. "Better?" she asked sweetly.

Shinka was a panting wreck, Rikka doing her best to keep her from falling over. "Get over here... right now," Nibutani commanded, pulling Sanae into an immediate kiss as the girl crawled over.

"Mmm," Sanae hummed, Shinka's lips on hers. She pulled away. "That is better now, I hope?"

Shinka's eyes were soft and grateful, throwing an arm around the blonde girl's neck. "Yeah," she whispered, "thanks, all of you."

Rikka was adjusting Shinka's clothes until she looked moderately presentable again, fixing her bra and panties back into place. Once satisfied, she pulled her hands back. "It's fun for us, too, Shinka," Rikka opined, "watching you cum is pretty cool, I think."

Shinka slumped back on her hands, catching her breath yet again, looking exhausted at the doorway. It remained resolutely closed.

"Thank goodness nobody walked in on that," she breathed. Yuuta rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah," he said, "maybe we should get back to doing some real work…"

Their work was a mess on and around the kotatsu. Little care had been given to clearing it away beforehand, and papers lay variously on and off the floor. Sanae had fished hers up and gone back to doing her work.

"I need a minute, first," Shinka groaned. "At least Sanae is keen…"

"If you want us to do that stuff later, there's no help for it," Sanae grumbled, pencil skating over the page, kanji trailing in its wake. "The sooner you start, the sooner we can go home."

Shinka was barely cogent, but she reached for a pencil anyway.

For the next hour, schoolwork proved surprisingly relaxing.


	9. Chapter 9

The clubroom after that was full of heady thoughts and lingering sidelong glances, the promise of something more exciting than homework once out of school hanging over the quartet's heads for the afternoon. When after half an hour it became clear that no more work was seriously being achieved, the towel was metaphorically thrown in. Schoolwork got pushed hurriedly into satchels and the four of them made as quick an exit from school as they could manage.

Shinka let out a sigh of relief as their group slipped out of the school gates into the hot afternoon sunshine, the street almost blinding after the shaded clubroom. Sanae and Rikka were in front leading the way as ever, the blue-haired girl proceeding forwards at a pace on her skate heels - a chuunibyou affectation that Shinka doubted would ever be jettisoned.

"Are you ok there, Shinka?" Yuuta asked her as they walked down the hill, the two of them watching the others run ahead, some distance in front. "You're muttering and shaking your head, and your name isn't Rikka, trying to pull off some ritual or other. What's on your mind?"

The girl looked quickly across at him, then back up the hill, before slowly meeting his face again. "Sorry," Shinka sighed, blowing air from her mouth in frustration at being picked up. "I'm just pent up, and a little bit glad to be out of school before it showed. I'm getting paranoid about what people think, I guess."

Her walking partner sighed. It was a familiar feeling for him, too, these last weeks. "People? Or Kazari?"

At the mention of the girl's name Nibutani's shoulders slumped. "Well, she is the most obnoxious one. I'm just… I was thinking to myself, I guess. I don't know that I'm particularly sure I trust myself to defend against Kannagi's questions when we are all leaving school together to…" She cleared her throat, awkwardly. "... to sneak off to Sanae's bedroom."

"Yeah…" Yuuta rubbed the back of his neck; she wasn't wrong. "I guess when you put it like that, we're not particularly being role models."

Her eyes roved sidelong at the buildings at the side of the street as they walked as she thought about that. "I like you, Yuuta. Just like I like these other dorks. It's just... awkward to have to justify, you know? Like, I know we have to pretend for the sake of it. Having spent a large part of my time at school pretending to be someone other than a total loser, I'm fine with that. It's just harder to do when the thing someone is calling you out on is so… _inadmissible._ "

"Yeah, but when you were trying to fit in, it was super obvious," Yuuta said. "I still have nightmares about when you dyed your hair last year."

Shinka smiled. "Oh, it wasn't that bad." Subconsciously, she brushed the hair out of her face and refixed her hair clip. "But I didn't like it enough to keep. You and the others..." Nibutani watched Rikka and Sanae racing down the hill together. "I like all of you enough to keep."

Yuuta grinned. "My point was that when it comes to us, you're... less showy, I guess? Like, you don't try and pretend for the sake of it."

"It's pretty easy to lie about details," Shinka said. "Whatever we might have become, we are all still friends. And it's not exactly likely to invite guesses about what we're up to." She sighed. "No doubt Kazari will do just that when she can catch one of us, alone, with more evidence."

The boy bit his lip. "Yeah. We should try and think about what to do with her," he suggested, after a moment's thought. "Let's talk about it again later, okay?. Stressing about this stuff doesn't seem particularly constructive; that can come later on. If we're all covertly sneaking off together, I'd rather not have my mind occupied by worrying about _gossip._ "

"Fine by me," Shinka shrugged. "Let's." Her lips twitched. "Wouldn't you rather be thinking of the events from earlier? So much for not doing that again in the clubroom. If Kazari catches us like that we certainly will all be done for."

"I didn't exactly hear you speaking up against it, Shinka. It's probably just as well you didn't win the presidency of the school council. Imagine what a scandal that would be."

Shinka stuck out her tongue. "Sanae cost me that. I can't say I'm glad; failure hurts. But in retrospect, I wouldn't have ended up in… this whole thing." She gesticulated emptily at the air, as if trying to convey the concept of their relationship in invisible strokes. "At least I get to take a long, protracted, and altogether more enjoyable revenge on the three of you for it."

The boy smiled. "You make being with you sound like a chore. It isn't so bad."

"Yeah, you think that. Just wait until the four of us are living together and under each other's feet all the time."

Yuuta felt his heart pound a little harder at hearing that idea. "We're already spending most of the time between Sanae's place and mine," he said. "It wouldn't really be too much of a stretch to say we're not far off."

Shinka cast a furtive glance around them on the street; seeing the coast seemingly clear of prying eyes, she took a step in towards Yuuta, and snaked her hand around his. She squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek. "Yeah, and I'm glad. It's not official, though."

The boy looked down at his hand, then back up at Shinka, eyes wide in surprise. "Holding hands with your friend's boyfriend in the middle of the street? People will talk."

"Want me to stop?" Shinka asked, evenly.

Yuuta smiled ruefully. "I didn't say that."

"Shut up and kiss me back then, dork."

"Are you going _soft_ , Shinka?"

Her face turned crimson and she scowled. "It's your fault."

Yuuta took a quick glance along the street and, seeing the coast clear, kissed her back on the cheek. Shinka clutched his hand as he pulled away, her lips slightly parted. "What kind of kiss was that," she lamented. Shinka flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips into his; Yuuta let out a muffled cry in surprise, before quickly reciprocating the warm touch of her lips on his mouth.

They stayed like that for a few moments, before Shinka pulled back, her cheeks flushed. "...We need to get home," she whispered. "All of us together."

They caught up with Rikka and Sanae. Rikka's trajectory down the hill on her heelies had caused Sanae to dutifully run and play catch up; Rikka was intoning rituals of restoration as her chuunibyou servant panted in the afternoon heat, palms flat on her thighs as she leaned forward to catch her breath. Sanae whipped her head around as she heard the others catch up at a more leisurely pace.

"You know, the sooner we get home, the sooner we can do more than just hold hands," she scowled, between breaths. "Recalcitrant Summer… Dark Flame Master… can't you use your powers to walk any faster?"

"The only recalcitrant one here is you," Shinka sighed. Her hand found Sanae's shoulder. "Come on, you."

Rikka sidled up to Yuuta, and the boy felt the familiar tug on the fingers of his other hand; he opened them for her, the girl's smaller fingers enmeshing with his hand immediately. "Maybe holding hands with each other will be more fun than rushing off," Rikka suggested. "Sorry. Sanae and I just really wanted to get back."

Yuuta shot her a smile. "Yeah. Shinka and I were just thinking the same thing. I mean, we've already ticked off a lot of things today. Holding hands until we get back is probably better for not fainting in the street."

Sanae stood back to full height, making a show of taking Shinka's hand on the other side. "I suppose I can consent to hold yours, then, _Summer_."

"Thanks," Shinka said. "Love you too, idiot." Sanae squeezed her hand reassuringly as her face turned a begrudging pink at the words.

The four of them began to walk again, slower-paced this time, close by one another now that they were holding hands. Yuuta smiled as he took a step in towards Shinka, closing the distance between them. She felt his shoulder touch hers and smiled bashfully, pushing back slightly into him.

"By the way," Shinka continued, smiling despite herself, "the four of us holding hands like this? This is SUPER lame."

Rikka frowned. "It is? I like it. Being with you is cool."

"Shinka is just being her cheerful self, today," Yuuta said evenly, looking deadpan forward as he continued to tease Shinka's shoulder. "Don't worry about that."

"I know a good fix for that," Rikka said, her eyes quick and smile bright as the fix she was contemplating began to be fleshed out in her mind. "One that should be properly exercised in the Fortress. Once we get there."

"That sounds good," Sanae said, speeding up her walk just a fraction again, a half-step in front of the others. "Let's get home and do it already..."

* * *

The rest of their walk to the train station was hurried, the wait for the train filled with those looks between them; as for the train itself… by the time they got on, Yuuta was quite glad to find an empty seat after Sanae had been whispering certain impatient things into his ear on the platform.

After what felt like too long, the door of Sanae's house crashed shut, four pairs of shoes hit the wall of the entrance hall, and the chuuni quartet were running up the stairs, all pretense at modesty abandoned. Socked feet slipped over the polished wooden stairs, before the four of them were in Sanae's bedroom again, and its owner pushed the lock shut firmly behind them.

The blonde looked at the other three, grinning fiercely. "Here we are. So… what are you waiting for? Permission?"

Rikka stepped in front of Shinka, pulling the girl down on top of her as she went backwards into the duvet. Rikka smiled at Shinka's yelp of surprise as they hit the bed. "Let's do something less lame and more cool together, Shinka."

"Mmmff, yeah, let's," Shinka just managed, between Rikka's assaults on her mouth.

Yuuta held his hand out in Sanae's direction, and the girl stepped into his space from the doorway. "Shall we?" he asked.

"No more talking," Sanae rebutted. The boy grinned and pulled her down onto the bed, too, where they began their own reunion after travelling home.

Shinka hurriedly unbuttoned Rikka's blouse, the quiet snapping of fasteners quickly replaced by the girl's barely-louder moan. Shinka's knee pressed between Rikka's red, frilled skirt, her exposed thigh rubbing deliciously against Rikka's damp underwear.

"Ha-ah," Rikka said breathily, her shaky hands reaching up to undo the bigger girl's shirt, "that train ride was way too long." The girl tried to move her fingers clumsily as Shinka's leg continued to press against the fabric of her panties; Rikka jolted as the blouse yielded Shinka's shoulders, Shinka's resulting balance pressing her knee firmer into the bed, and into Rikka. The blue-haired chuuni shuddered in muted pleasure, before it turned into voiced pleasure. "Ahhh," Rikka moaned again, her face quickly turning pink.

"I've been thinking about the three of you all the way back," Shinka murmured, pulling her partner into a heavy kiss, Rikka reciprocating her lips warmly and quickly. Their kiss promptly entwined their tongues, Shinka pressing the attack into her partner's warm, gasping mouth. "Let me take off your other clothes, too," Rikka urged between kisses, embarrassed at the one-sidedness, fighting the urge to close her eyes in pleasure as she felt Shinka pivot her mouth to travel up her flushed neck.

"Go for it," Shinka said, breath hot against Rikka's neck as the brunette's lips continued to burn against her skin. "Doesn't mean I'll stop this for it, though..."

Sanae, meanwhile, had slipped out of her shirt wholesale, the buttoned-up whiteness thrown promptly to the other side of the room. She hummed into her own partner's mouth, her tongue wrestling wetly with Yuuta's as her hands worked stubbornly on his shirt buttons. Yuuta could feel fingers fumbling at him and tried to pull away, Sanae's hands quickly changing to a tug on his shirt to pull him back down. "I can do it," she grumbled, pushing her lips back into his between words, before she made the breathy admission, "I don't want to stop kissing you."

"Suit yourself," Yuuta managed, before he pressed his face back to Sanae's, and she eagerly resumed their kissing in earnest. Sanae hummed into his mouth as he pushed his tongue around hers, trying eagerly to find the back of her throat as she put up a token resistance, the warmth and taste of her mouth pleasant as usual. The boy sent his hand around Sanae's waist to began his own work, trying blindly to get the girl's patterned skirt off.

Too slow for the blonde girl to be satisfied, she helped him out, her impatience with waiting further manifest.

Some moments later, the four's clothes were gone, the group left wearing nothing but the redness in their faces. Sanae smiled, self-satisfied, as Yuuta pulled her panties down her legs to join the messy pile of clothes scattered at the foot of the bed. Dekomori's impatience meant that they had just managed to beat the others. Shinka took the clip out of her hair and added it to the casualties, her brown hair cascading down onto Rikka's pale tummy as the bigger girl levered off the chuuni's own underwear. Sanae smirked as she crawled up on her knees. "Beat you again."

"It's not my fault you don't need a bra," Shinka shot back, between kisses with Rikka. "Who said it was a race anyway?"

"Well, it's not my fault-" Sanae's words died in her mouth as she felt Yuuta move up to her, his fingers quickly finding the place where her panties had been, and her breath hitched as she felt his fingers trail softly over her inner thigh to move over the core of her, trailing deliciously over the wetness of her anticipation.

"Aaahh," she moaned heavily, putting a hand on Yuuta's cheek, pushing herself up on her knees so she could reach his face more easily, her fingertips tracing his cheek in appreciation. She sent her other hand behind her to take hold of Yuuta's own arousal. He let out a contented groan as he felt Sanae touch him, her own fingers small and soft, wrapping warmly around his erection.

"Well done Yuuta, you have found a way to quiet my servant..." Rikka smiled shyly at Shinka, who smiled back encouragingly, the girl's eyes kind, if moderately lustful. Rikka dipped her head, playfully headbutting Shinka gently in the chest. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," Shinka said breathlessly, slipping her hand enticingly down between Rikka's now-naked thighs, the girl gently moaning as Shinka's slender fingers made contact. The girl was soaked with anticipation. "Mmmm," Shinka hummed, making this discovery, gently moving her fingers over Rikka's core, the blue-haired girl slumping onto Shinka's ample chest. "Ahh, Shinka," Rikka purred, pushing her own hand down over her lover's, urging the girl firmer into her.

Yuuta's spare hand rubbed the small of Sanae's back, her pale skin pliant under his fingers as he continued to elicit soft gasps from her with the movement of his other hand. The two groaned into their mutual kiss, breaking apart to see each other's look of appreciation and desire, mouths still connected by a silvery strand of saliva.

"Yuuta," Sanae moaned, her eyes half-lidded in a look of want, before she shut them and kissed his chest. "I love you."

"Same to you," Yuuta smiled, before Sanae squeezed him in her hand just right, and he moaned. She was wet under his fingers, and he slipped one slowly inside her, his palm gently coming to rest against her core as his finger inside her reached the limit. Sanae moaned louder as she felt this, her hips bucking against his hand as he held it there.

She pulled her head up, grinning weakly at him. "Yuuta, that's… really good…"

"Yeah," he admitted, face feeling hot from Sanae's own touching. "Do you want to go further?" The girl's body heat was bleeding into his hand, the soft wet core of her surrounding his testing finger a testament to her approval.

"Please," she urged him, her voice a whisper.

Yuuta lowered her into the bedsheet without any more words. They kissed wetly as Yuuta's other hand rubbed her very modest breasts, Sanae whimpering as he rubbed over her nipple with a thumb. She squeezed him firmly in her hand, and he gasped back, kneeling between her thighs to commit themselves together.

Shinka and Rikka were watching from the other side of the bed, Rikka currently a putty in Shinka's arms, the girl moaning as Shinka worked a hand between Rikka's thighs. "Once they get going, we can follow Sanae's idea," Shinka whispered into her ear, eliciting some more noises of approval.

"I'm ready, Yuuta," Sanae said, doing her best to line him up with her soaking entrance, before shivering as she felt the connection. In response, Yuuta could only groan. He tried to corral words together, the fog of things making the task difficult. "Ahh, Sanae," he murmured, the heat in his face making it hard to move his mouth, "let's come together, okay?"

"I don't know about that, it feels like I'm close already," she grinned.

"You're never happy with one, though. Come as many times as you want."

Sanae moaned at his words. "I will. Please, Yuuta, let's feel good together." At that, Yuuta could feel himself hard against Sanae's entrance, and with a little more movement, he pushed inside her, both parties moaning at the feel of the other and their connection as Yuuta slid inside. Sanae moaned, his hardness within her radiating heat and pressure, the feeling of being filled by him immensely satisfying after the never-ending buildup of the commute back from school.

"I could never get tired of how this feels with you," Yuuta murmured.

"Liar," Sanae chuckled, "you have all three of us to do this with."

"Right now I'm with you," Yuuta said, "besides, Shinka and Rikka are watching us, too." He began to move his hips as Sanae clutched his neck, fingers in the back of his hair as they began to feel good together. The boy turned his head towards the other girls on the bed. "Hope we didn't throw off your plans."

Shinka shook her head. "Watching you is good, too."

Rikka bit her lip and made a faint noise; Shinka raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth rising in a wry smile. "What was that, Rikka? Didn't quite catch you there."

The blue-haired chuuni looked fixedly at Yuuta and Sane coupling together, her face hot, her core hot under Shinka's unceasing fingers. The girl moaned as Shinka slid a finger slowly inside her, beginning a slow motion back and forth inside her. "It's embarrassing…" Rikka eventually conceded, between small gasps, "I want to go further with you but we'd have to stop watching the others…"

Shinka kissed Rikka tenderly. "Whatever you feel like, okay?"

Across the short gap between them on the bed, Sanae could barely form thoughts. The heavy heat of her partner atop her and the smoothness of the bed underneath her were the sensations flanking the pleasure centre of her brain. The heat and physicality of Yuuta moving inside her was her sole focus, the feeling of being full with him both new enough to excite and familiar enough to feel good.

"Yuuta," she moaned, as her hands clutched uselessly at his back, the boy's hips driving hers into the bed. "Yuuta, I-I'm close," she whispered, feeling the rushing of blood inside her that signalled something imminent and pleasurable.

"I meant it," Yuuta murmured, into her ear. "Go ahead and cum for me. It won't be the last today."

She didn't need his permission, but his encouragement drove her over the edge, and Sanae's body began to convulse, an orgasm hours in the teasing now ripping through her small frame. She screamed into Yuuta's shoulder as he kept moving inside her even as she came, her insides clamping quick and firm around his length, the boy groaning hotly as Sanae came around him. Her fingernails dug into his back as her legs clamped around his hips; still Yuuta moved inside her and rubbed her core , prolonging her climax. Sanae's head swam as all focus gave way to pleasure, seemingly lasting forever.

In a few seconds more, Yuuta let out his own fevered cry, and let go inside her, the hot mess of his own climax spurting against her insides. The sight and sound of the girl, loud as ever, was too much for him to hold back. Sanae moaned blankly as she felt Yuuta cum, conscious of little except the feeling and the blood rushing in her ears. Yuuta collapsed onto her flat chest, and Sanae's fingers pulled back from digging into him to stroke his back.

"God, Sanae, I couldn't hold out against that," he breathed, his chest heaving. "Watching you cum like that... "

Sanae's chest worked for air, her ears still full of the sound of pumping blood, sensation other than the new warmth inside her slowly returning. She put a tentative hand on Yuuta's chest, looking up at him with unsteady eyes. "Yuuta…"

Yuuta kissed her lips gently. "Good?"

"Yeah…" she panted.

Besides them, Rikka and Shinka had relinquished the idea of watching the others, instead falling into each other more fervently. Yuuta was just about cogent enough to look over at their own progress, rewarded with the sight of Shinka bringing Rikka up to her own peak with her lips, even as Rikka did the same from her position on top of the other girl. Yuuta grinned, self-amused. _No wonder Rikka had had trouble articulating what she wanted._

With urgent noises, unsteady limbs and a little more time, Yuuta and Sanae watched lazily as the others came too, their mutual climax seemingly no less good than theirs had been. Rikka awkwardly rolled off of Shinka and put her hands over her face as she struggled for breath. "That, that was really good, but really embarrassing," Rikka began, hurriedly, before Shinka climbed up unsteadily, and kissed her quiet. "Shhh," Shinka urged, the taste of Rikka in her mouth not exactly unpleasant. "Who cares when, that was, that was that good," she managed, before falling onto Rikka's prone form, needing a moment to recover. Rikka's face was pinker than Shinka's hairclip, but the girl nodded reluctantly. "It really was…"

The four of them spent a few moments listening to the quiet noises of each other's hearts slowing back down. No further words were really necessary. Except-

"How many more times do you think we can do it with each other before bed?" Sanae pouted. "I had plans, you know... and seeing you do that with Rikka, Summer..."

* * *

The answer, as it turned out, was at least three more times, in various permutations.

Shinka kissed Sanae as the two of them were the last to finish, the two girls falling back to join Rikka and Yuuta lying dazed on the bed. The room smelled very much like sex.

"Ahh," Sanae panted, limbs weak as she caught her breath. "I think I need a rest now…"

"Yeah," Yuuta said, his own body feeling a little strained from the last hour or so. He looked over at the clock. _Well, make that two hours. Whoops._

Rikka wiped the sweaty mess of blue, damp hair from her forehead, pushing her thighs together a little more modestly, before propping herself up and waving her arms, muttering to herself as a splayed hand pointed at each of the others in turn.

"What are you doing," Yuuta asked her.

"I am intoning a ritual of power to restore our energy and bless our mutual relations," Rikka said, straight-faced. She continued to trace pentagrams in the air.

"As rituals go, seems pretty tame considering all we've done this afternoon," Yuuta remarked, dryly. "Still, I guess it won't hurt."

Rikka shrugged, but kept going with things anyway. Sanae waved a hand from her prone position on the bed, too tired to help in any specific way but wanting to be in with the general effort. "Thank you, master…"

"Well done, Rikka," Shinka managed, after the girl had finished, or at least stopped waving her hands. It was hard to tell with these kinds of things. "If you're done, how about a bath? Come to think of it, we didn't do that again together for a while. And, um. I could use one." She pressed her thighs awkwardly together.

Rikka nodded. "Yeah, that would be cool, actually. And yes, the ritual is completed." She smiled tiredly. "At least until next time."

Yuuta levered himself up from the sweaty bedcover. "I'll go start the bath," he said, voice echoing out as he paced into the ensuite.

* * *

Rikka dunked her head in the water, emerging in a mess of stuck-down blueness that sloughed water down her face and across her smile. "This is nice," she said, pushing the hair out of her eyes and off her ears.

"Yeah," Shinka agreed. "It's still obscene that a bath that fits this many people at once exists. But it's undeniably useful." She settled back into the warm water, pushing out her legs and wriggling her toes. Yuuta smiled as he felt Rikka's do the same, her own feet pushing into the water next to him. He playfully poked his girlfriend in the sole. "Would you like me to rub your feet, Rikka? I imagine that could be fun."

The tips of the girl's ears turned pink at the suggestion as she worked her jaw for a moment. After a few seconds Rikka nodded hastily. "O-Okay…"

From the other side of the bath Shinka smiled. "My word, Yuuta, how romantic," she chimed. "People will say you're in love."

"People are already saying we're in love," the boy replied dryly, slowly taking Rikka's foot in the water and beginning a slow movement with his thumbs. "We get that benefit, so we might as well enjoy the perks of it."

"Mmm," Rikka replied, her face peaking in delight. "T-that feels nice, Yuuta."

Sanae was lying with her hair tipped back over the edge of the tub, head resting on the enamel with her eyes closed as the steam from the water washed over her skin. The girl was spent, all her usual energy burned in the afternoon's cavalcade of feeling. Shinka sent some water her way, the bath water lapping over Sanae's chest as if it were an unmoving stone.

"Did we really tire you out that much," Shinka marvelled.

"Mmmmm," Sanae responded, words too much effort.

"At least I know what it'll take for an easy life, then." Shinka laid her head into Sanae's shoulder as she watched Rikka quietly mewl under Yuuta's fingers, this time in a much less lewd and more comfortable way. A fond and endearing smile slowly crept over her lips.

* * *

Kannagi Kazari had a sly smirk on her face. "Apparently the four of you left together again, yesterday." Shinka raised an eyebrow, laconic. "I know you're friends, but I wouldn't fault you if Togashi likes you, Nibutani. Or is that too outrageous?"

Shinka smiled thinly. "Even if he did, he's going out with Takanashi. I don't think he has any incentive to break that up." Kazari's eyes pressed for another answer. Shinka shrugged. "We're just friends, Kazari. Come bug me when you catch me making out in the street with him."

Kazari tapped her foot on the floor. "Mmm. Is that likely?"

Nibutani tried to resist the urge to touch her face. Her eyelid twitched. "If you want anything more scandalous, how about the fact we formed a study group? Takanashi isn't hot on maths, the rest of us are slightly better. Sorry to be boring, Kazari."

The fact that Kazari looked moderately deflated as Shinka walked to lunch gave her a small amount of satisfaction.

 _You're getting better at this, Shinka..._

* * *

Knock-knock-knock!

Yuuta opened his eyes slowly. Someone was knocking at the door to the apartment. He stirred sleepily, suppressing a yawn as he got out of bed.

Knock-knock-knock!

"Who is that," Shinka complained from her futon on the floor, rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she too had been woken up by the mystery visitor. Sanae drowsed next to her as she clutched Rikka's waist, the four-person-length futon now fitting three as Yuuta had eased himself up and out from the edge.

"No idea," the boy yawned, opening the bedroom door and pacing into the corridor Shinka watched him go appreciatively. _That dork has no right to be that cute, really._

He paced to the door to the apartment, fiddling with the lock tiredly, before his clumsy hands found the catches, and he swung it open into the cool morning, before taking a step back in shock. "Ah!"

"Good morning, Yuuta," his mother chimed tiredly giving him a friendly wave from the hallway. "Sorry if we surprised you. Were you asleep?"

Yuuta stammered, feeling free-falling for a moment. "H-hey...I thought you weren't back until next week?"

"I said the 19th, Yuuta," his mother scolded, gently. "That is today, remember?"

The boy rubbed the back of his head, tiredly, as he let his family into the apartment. "Ah, yeah, sorry. I've been busy with… school. And stuff."

From behind his mother, Kuzuha smiled. "You could have got dressed before answering the door, onii-chan."

"Sorry. Like I said, we were sleeping in." Yuuta helped his sister bring in her suitcase. "There you go."

Kuzuha bent down to take her shoes off, then looked up at him. "We? So… whose shoes are these?"

The four pairs of hastily discarded shoes in the entrance hall, tangled in an interwovven mess, glared guiltily up at Yuuta. _Thank God we kept our clothes on until the bedroom yesterday._ "Uhmm…"

"These are girls' shoes, onii-chan. Have you been having a _sleepover_?"

"Yeah, I had my friends from school stay over last night," Yuuta said. That part is true. "We've been spending a lot of time together with our heads together. I mean, studying."

Mrs. Togashi smiled sunnily at her son. "Good to hear it! Your dad will be proud when he hears how studious you are with your family away. You know, most boys would be slacking off. I'm glad your friends can help you with that."

Yuuta smiled. "I'd be worse off without them, that's for sure."

"Speaking of your dad, I imagine he'll phone tomorrow, so try and be around for that, he was telling us he misses you, alright? That said, don't let me keep you any longer from covering your legs at some point this morning." Yuuta's mother motioned to his shorts. "If you and your friends get dressed, that'll give us time to get our stuff in and relax a bit. But I'm tired from the trip, so don't rush yourself. Kuzuha and I are going to have a rest first."

"Yeah, I'm super sleepy, onii-chan. Mama, I might just go have a nap now…"

Yuuta nodded. "Alright, we'll be up soon." He turned away and paced down the hall, calling back. "I'll just let them know you're here."

He let himself back into the room and locked the door. Shinka spoke up from her prone position on the futon, staring at the ceiling. "Who was that?"

"My family are back," Yuuta sighed. "I thought they were due next week but apparently not."

Shinka scowled unseen. "So much for our weekend plans," she sighed.

Yuuta smiled thinly. "Yeah. Still, my mother seemed less panicked about you being here than I thought she would be." He laughed. "She thinks you're keeping me honest."

Nibutani blindly motioned him over to the bed with a tired arm, the boy following her directions as she pushed herself out of bed, standing on her knees as he offered out a hand.

"No chance of that," she whispered, and pulled his hand down so that he fell to his knees on the futon, and kissed him.

Yuuta had to suppress a gasp. He could feel his face burning right away as she pushed her face into his, the earnestness in her lips surprising him. Shinka sent her tongue into his mouth and used her weight to push him backward towards the wall, the girl chasing him there on her knees. He hit the side of his bedroom with a quiet thud as Shinka leaned close in, still kissing him.

"Mmmph," he allowed himself, Shinka's tongue searching inside his mouth, already driving him to distraction. She smelled like the four of them in the bed, skin still warm from the covers, and as she leaned into him against the wall she straddled his lap. His hands found her back and her thigh, the warmth of her searing against his bare legs.

He didn't want it to end, but after a moment he reluctantly broke away and turned his head, desperate to breathe, heart pumping. "Shinka…"

"If we can't have all weekend, we can have now," she smiled coyly, already tugging at his shorts. "Seriously. Five minutes. Keep your mouth shut and then we can get dressed."

"But-"

Shinka kissed him more fiercely. "Yes. I had too many thoughts about you coming back to the room just now. And I don't want to wait another few hours whilst being high and dry, okay?"

It didn't take either of them five minutes. Having Shinka's hands in his shirt and her tongue around his definitely helped keep Yuuta focused. From the way she acted, he knew his touches were having a similar effect on her.

For the next few minutes, the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing and their muffled gasps. They were lost in each other, until they came feveredly together, Yuuta trying not to bang his head on the wall as his body shook, emptying himself with suppressed cries of pleasure inside Shinka as she did the same around him.

As they fell apart, both climaxed, panting, Shinka kissed his neck, wiping back her sweat-damp hair. "Hah, Yuuta, I love you," she gasped, determinedly quiet, trying to quiet her breathing, heart still thumping and blood still rushing.

"Yeah, I love you too. Where, ah, where the hell did, did that come from?"

"No time," Shinka whispered. "Now, ah, here's the plan. I'm going to go out and greet your mom, and try to clean up in the bathroom. You, Togashi, are going to wake up the others and see if they need the same kind of wake-up call, okay?"

Yuuta groaned very quietly. "Do we have time?"

Shinka grinned, her face flushed. "I'll go make time. I'll tell them that you're trying to wake the others up and tidy the room. Just be quick and quiet, okay?"

The boy nodded, kissing Shinka as she slid her blue pyjama leggings discreetly back up her long legs. He watched the waistband slip with a snap around her hips.

She took a deep breath and winked. "No time like the present!" She slipped over to the door, unlocked it, and let herself out into the hallway. Yuuta envied how steadily she could move her legs already.

He heard her voice echo from the hallway, at least one of them permitted to make some noise. "Hey, Mrs. Togashi. It was really hot last night, and I'm really sweaty. Do you think I might use your bathroom, really quickly?"

Yuuta leaned down and started to wake up the others with some kisses.

* * *

The four of them were out of Yuuta's place two hours later, the bedroom hid of anything too incriminating. Their bags were hastily packed with uniform that might have been wearable out of school but hadn't lasted the first hour in Togashi's place. As Rikka made her last goodbyes to Yuuta's mother, she ran to catch up with the others, who were standing a little way off, the four of them beginning to walk in tandem.

Rikka leaned up and kissed Yuuta on the cheek, grinning. "I can't believe we all actually just did that."

Yuuta felt his face flush, the nerves in his cheeks tingling with first-hand embarrassment. "It was good," he admitted, "if my mother was less tired though, we'd have been caught for sure…"

Sanae grumbled next to him. "It was good but I really need a bath," she said. "You two got some excuse in to get cleaned up. I couldn't think of any in time…"

Shinka messed the blonde's hair, which Sanae had hastily just tied back in a single ponytail, wrapped around her wrist like one of Rikka's bandages as she played with the end. "That's your fault for waking up last," Shinka said. "If you'd woken up first, you might have got in there."

"Well, supposedly it was your idea to do that, Summer, so I won't complain too much," Sanae grinned. "You know, if you wrote the Mabinogion these days, I think it would be a completely different book."

Shinka chewed on that. "Yeah. It probably would," she quietly admitted.

Rikka steeled herself as the other two fell silent, and she coughed, catching their attention. "Hey everyone. So… what are we doing instead today now our… sleep in… got called off?"

Sanae folded her arms. "Like I said, I'd like a shower sooner rather than later. But after that, we could do anything. I mean, like I said yesterday, my parents are hosting some family at our place, so we couldn't really relocate there for our less salubrious activities. At least, not until later on."

"If we stopped by yours to get changed and clean," Rikka suggested, "afterwards, I want to go shopping today. If that sounds okay."

Yuuta raised a hand, ready to chop Rikka in the forehead at another announcement of profligate spending. Shinka saw him and pulled his hand away, rolling her eyes. "What do you want to go shopping for, Rikka?" Nibutani asked.

Rikka looked away. "It's a secret."

"She's saying that because she doesn't want to admit she wants to waste her living budget on more toys," Yuuta scolded. Rikka shook her head fervently. "No, I.. actually. Shinka. Could you take my servant a little way away? I just want to explain things to Yuuta, if that's alright."

Nibutani raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Don't let him bully you." She looked up at Yuuta, his hands in the air, placating gesture. "Don't bully her." She leaned in. "You were getting on so well earlier." She kissed him on the cheek and took Sanae's hand, the blonde girl following her a few paces away.

Rikka leaned over to Yuuta's ear and told him what she wanted.

"Just two?" he asked, confirming.

"Well, unless you want one, too. Maybe it might raise more questions at school, though…."

Yuuta felt a smile creep onto his face as he thought about it. "I wouldn't mind. I could pocket it, I guess." He looked over at the others. "Why is this a secret?"

"Because we haven't invoked a real contract yet," Rikka insisted, as if it were obvious. "And they do a lot of cool stuff in this relationship with us, so I thought that if it were a surprise, it would be cool for them."

"Ah." Rikka's plan was beginning to make sense. "So we need the tools. Alright. Let's try and do our best in town then, okay?"

Rikka nodded, holding out her hand for Yuuta to take. "Yeah."

Yuuta smiled. "You know, if we pull this off, this is probably the last time we're doing something as a tag team. Just us."

Rikka let a shy smile hit her face as she looked at him. Her gaze was steady. "Yeah. But I think that's what both of us want, right?"

The boy squeezed her hand. "Yeah. Come on then, Wicked Lord. Let's go out in a blaze of glory."

The two of them walked into the morning together, calling over to Shinka and Sanae.


	10. Chapter 10

The four of them climbed out of the subway line, the weekend meaning the streets were already busy with people shopping as the quartet emerged into the afternoon. Rikka clutched tightly to her boyfriend's hand as the four of them pushed up the subterranean stairway, Shinka and Sanae following close behind the leading pair.

"At least the street is a little less busy," Shinka remarked, looking around as she stepped away from the subway exit.

Rikka tugged at Yuuta's fingertips. "I hope we can find somewhere through the crowds…"

It wasn't as hot as days previous had been, but not-quite-cool, the sky a humid grey. Shinka had earlier tucked Sanae's lurid umbrella into her bag with an expression of humoured distaste, though she personally hoped it wouldn't rain; Nibutani wasn't wearing a jacket, and her yellow vest top didn't have sleeves.

Rikka and Sanae were wearing their usual casual outfits, so overwrought in their complexity it was almost a fine art. Dekomori was humming to herself as they started down the street, energetically walking behind the other two with Shinka in hand, twintails dancing behind her as her head whipped every which way. Shinka looked at the bright signs and flashing lights of the shops that surrounded them and internally sighed. Overstimulation or what.

"Just let us know when you see a shop that you want to go into, I guess," Shinka called ahead. "I mean, unless that's going to give it away or something. You two still didn't explain what you're up to."

The four of them paused at a crosswalk as a couple of black taxis ran by the crossing. "It's a surprise, Shinka," Yuuta explained, hesitantly, waiting at the crossing for the traffic.

She raised an eyebrow. "...Nothing bad!" he blurted. "Rikka just needs my help to sort it out. Besides, if it's me and her taking care of it, that way it stays as a surprise for you two."

Shinka shrugged. "It's fine by me, I guess. Well, I'm at least a little curious; I'm surprised Sanae isn't exactly pestering you constantly to divulge your secrets..."

"I have total confidence in my master and her secrets," Sanae grinned, squeezing Shinka's hand as they crossed the road. "How do you know I have not already deathly divined telepathically what the surprise is?"

"Eh," Shinka raised an eyebrow. " Do you already know what it is?"

Sanae's poker face was good, the normally effervescent girl resolutely giving nothing away. "No. I have some ideas, Summer. But my master and her lover have asked to maintain it as a secret. So to respect her wishes, we'll just have to wait. But if it's what I think… you'll like it."

Rikka whispered something in her boyfriend's ear and he turned around. "Looks like Rikka saw a place for us to… go do this," he said, taking a moment to think about the words. "If you and Sanae want to go somewhere nearby, we could catch up. I don't think it'll take too long."

"Very well," Sanae said, nodding sagely. "Your terms are agreeable, Yuuta."

Shinka rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no worries." She stared down at Sanae. "Well? How do you want to spend ten minutes?"

"This way, Summer," Sanae grinned, her eyes affixed on one of the brighter nearby shops. "Maybe this time you'll appreciate the music of the ancients." Shinka yelped as Sanae pulled her off-balance, leading her by the hand predictably towards a music store without further ado. "Come find us when you're done," Shinka called back hurriedly, as Sanae marched forward and the two of them disappeared from sight.

"Guess that works," Yuuta remarked.

Rikka watched them go with a new look of uncertainty. "... I'm really nervous," she admitted, stepping closer into his space. "I want to do this but it's scary. What if we don't get the right things…"

Yuuta squeezed her hand. Rikka looked up at him. "I managed to get yours right, remember?" he asked. "We'll just work out between us what they'd want."

Rikka fidgeted with the silver butterfly ring on her finger, foot kicking against the back of her other heel "... Okay," she eventually conceded, furrowing her brow and squeezing Yuuta's hand tightly in an attempt to solidify her resolve. Yuuta kissed her on the forehead.

"Awuh…" Rikka blushed. "Thanks for this, Yuuta."

"I believe in us, Rikka. Since the four of us are apparently fine with our new, expanded definition of the collective noun, we have to make it official at some point. Let's do our best by them."

The girl nodded hesitantly, hair twitching. "Yeah. I want to do right for Deko and Shinka." She smiled brightly. "I never expected I would get to do this bit myself. But it makes me happy, thinking about why."

"Me too," Yuuta said, spinning Rikka around, putting his hands on her shoulders, the two of them facing the jeweller's. "Are you ready, Rikka Takanashi?" he asked, throwing his hand out past her, hand splayed towards the shop facade. "To pair up with another powerful user of the arts and secure instruments of sealing for our contract partners? To overcome all that stands in the way of that same?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically, throwing out her own hand. "In the name of the Wicked Lord, I so swear," Rikka assented. "Let's do it," she grinned back and him, taking his hand and leading the way as they headed over across the street.

* * *

Yuuta stepped quietly up behind Sanae and kissed her lightly on the neck. She jumped with a yelp, the store headphones she had been using causing him to catch her by surprise. She turned around with alacrity, already her hands ready to spin twintails up to attacking formation, before her brain caught up with who it was and her face turned pink.

Sanae yanked the headphones from her head with both hands, her cheeks fighting over whether to embrace a scowl or an embarrassed smile. "Making me jump like that..." She folded her arms, thrusting out a lip in a scowl. "Wait till I get you back for that one, Yuuta." She leaned in. " I know where you sleep."

He smirked. "Sorry. I couldn't resist." Sanae hit him in the chest. "Jerk. Very funny. Rest assured, the day of your own deathly destruction will come when you least expect it."

Shinka rolled her eyes. "Good way to not attract attention, you two. Anyway. You both look in a disgustingly good mood. Did you and Rikka finish your mysterious business? Let me know if you arranged an inadvertent gambling win. Having Sanae be the only rich one is convenient but not particularly equitable."

"Yeah, we're done," Rikka nodded. "Sorry for taking a while. There were a lot of cool - uhm, we had to make sure it was right." Rikka bit her lip as she tried not to smile so much, the results of their trip heavy in her pocket. "I think you'll like it."

Shinka pursed her lips. "You sure you two didn't just sneak off for a bit?"

"Damn, now there's an idea we could have followed," Yuuta teased, winking at her.

Shinka stuck her tongue out at him. "I guess not then. Well, do you need to visit more places for this thing… or are you done? I mean, you're not carrying any bags or anything…"

"No, it's all sorted," Rikka shook her head. Her hair twitched nervously as she hoped that would be the end of the admittedly mild questioning. She attempted to change the subject. "Where are we going next, then?"

Sanae had a fistful of CDs in her hand, jewel cases splayed in her grip like deadly shuriken. "Good question. Well, as the one with the money, I'm going to pay for these. Come up with some plans whilst I'm away." Shinka shook her head as she watched Dekomori skip away. "We love that girl, but her taste in music is pretty singular." Nibutani rolled her eyes. "So, dorks. What are we doing now?

Yuuta put his hands in his pockets. "I dunno, I'm not really in the market for shoes or visiting wine bars," he said, looking out of the store windows at the surrounding shops that offered just that. "I suppose we could go get some food or something. We've got a few hours yet to kill until we can go back to Sanae's place, right?"

Shinka pulled out her phone and checked the time. "We've got a few hours, yeah."

"A few too many," Rikka muttered.

Shinka smiled ruefully and messed up Rikka's hair with a free hand. "Who knew having to behave around each other was so boring. What did we even do together before all this?"

Rikka smoothed her blue fringe out of her face with an amused expression. "Nothing that compares to the last two months."

"Up until this summer we mostly ran around having crises and pretending we were good at the ethereal arts," Yuuta said, watching the small way Rikka had stealthed over and clutched Shinka's hand. "Hanging around, helping each other out with our feelings and relationships. You know. Small stuff."

"Sounds about right." Shinka smiled at the two of them. "I guess now we sorted out all that latent stuff, our teen psychodrama doesn't really fill as much time. Watching you two being so chaste and lovey-dovey was utterly saccharine sometimes. The four of us really arrived at something much better."

"I'm glad it worked out like this," Rikka agreed.

"Yeah," Yuuta said. "Still, I guess spending a few hours together in the city will be fun too. I'm hungry enough, considering we all skipped breakfast. When our whirling menace gets back, how about we find someplace to eat? Then we can go walk it off in the park or something. If it stays dry."

Sanae poked her head in between Rikka and Shinka's the girl straining on tiptoe as she scowled at Yuuta over the other girls' shoulders. "I am not a menace," she insisted, trying to balance. She jumped back, bag of CDs in her hand jangling. "I step away and already it's treachery…"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Shinka rolled her eyes.

The bag with Sanae's newly-acquired purchases was thrust out towards Yuuta, Sanae grinning at the other end of the arm offering it. "You can make up to me by carrying this."

"Doesn't seem like too much of a hardship." He offered out a hand. Sanae let him take the bag and stepped into his space as she followed her retracting arm, slipping her hands into his pockets and looking up at him, right hand meeting his. "It's the first of many," the blonde girl explained, grinning wickedly as she stepped lightly onto his feet, "many, many reparations."

Yuuta nearly froze, before remembering that the objects of his-and-Rikka's mission had gone into her pockets instead of his. He quickly remembered to breathe, flashing the blonde girl on his toes a genuine smile, actually amused at what she had done. His mind focused on her hands in his pockets; they were warm. He slipped the handle of her bag onto his wrist and put his other hand around hers.

Rikka's lips curled into a slow smile, a warm look filling her eyes. "My servant is in that kind of mood, huh."

"How quickly she turns from vitriol to the romantic," Shinka remarked. "Are you quite done? We were talking about going for some food. Any ideas?"

"You and I have already established the superiority of my food choices," Sanae retorted. She bit her lip, considering lightly, fingers fiddling with Yuuta's in his trouser pockets. "There are a lot of places this far into the city… we should walk around and have a look."

"Just so long as it's not ice-cream, this time," Shinka sighed. "I need some real food. I didn't have anything for breakfast except you ," she finished, looking at Yuuta.

Rikka put a hand to her own tummy. "Yeah, I'm hungry… let's walk and find somewhere."

* * *

They went to a fast-food place, in the end. The four of them squeezed into a small booth together, a few bags pressed around their feet. Sanae had led them on a circuitous route, one that conveniently passed by several clothes stores. The evidence of that detour lay in paper rectangles on the floor. Yuuta didn't care much for clothes shopping, but it had been fun to watch Sanae and Rikka paw eagerly through the clothes racks, with various bright and novel reactions, even if the clothes they had bought were not at all practical.

"You know, if we didn't like each other this would be cramped," Sanae remarked. "It's kind of fun." She grinned as she felt Shinka's hip pressed into hers, the four of them not-quite-but-almost immodestly packed close.

After their food, they went looking for somewhere to walk it off. A few streets away, there was a park signposted, and the four of them disappeared into it. It was less busy here, the wide pathways covered by trees. They took the opportunity to walk side-by-side-by-side for a bit, the four of them strolling comfortably down the broad concourse, talking about this-and-that.

After a quarter of an hour, they came alongside a lake; a few dozen metres long, surrounded by green, leafy trees. There were no benches, but a multitude of hewn flat rocks surrounded the edge of the lake to serve as seating. A handful of pigeons pecked at the dirt a few metres away. Yuuta eyed the rocks pleadingly, the multitude of shopping bags Sanae had decorated his wrists with beginning to feel a bit heavy. "Can we…" he began, motioning towards the lake.

Sanae grinned. "Alright. I wouldn't have it said that the Mjolnir Hammer was a slavedriver." She span on a heel and jumped in front of Rikka. "Master… a convergence from the elemental plane of water - surely we could invoke something here?"

"My servant has identified the site of power," Rikka marvelled. "We will go and see what the situation is." The two of them ran off a few metres away to the water. Yuuta quickly took the opportunity to sit down on a rock, bags sliding to the floor as the weight of all of them fled from his arms.

Across at the edge of the lake, Rikka and Sanae started holding out their arms, fingers splayed towards the centre of the lake. The snippets of words that came back to where Yuuta and Shinka were sitting a few metres away suggested that the two of them were doing nothing so innocuous as attempting to summon a great water elemental of the city centre from this park lake. To Yuuta it rather looked like they were pointing at an inactive water feature emplacement and hoping for the best.

He covered his face. "Remember, we love these people," he groaned under a hand. Shinka scooted up next to him, resting her head against his shoulder as she watched the other girls. "Yeah. It's not really so bad though, is it."

Yuuta lowered his hand and took Shinka's. "No. It's a gift. Even at times like this."

"Speaking of gifts, mister," Shinka replied, punctuation permeated by her fingers drumming on his palm playfully, "I'm still interested in what you and Rikka are planning."

"All in good time," the boy replied evenly, eyes not deviating from where Rikka and Sanae were making ersatz chuunibyou gestures at the open lake. To the credit of the passersby, only a few were outright staring at them. "Rikka has some stuff to practice for it, apparently. So I can't tell you when she will be ready for it."

Shinka pushed herself up from his shoulder and leaned in conspiratorially. "Is that so. What if I convince you to divulge some of your secrets?" She hesitated, before putting her hand to his face and kissing him on the lips. Yuuta quickly turned red, letting out a quiet noise of approval as their lips lingered on each other's, not particularly deeply but close in all the right ways. "Mmm-"

Shinka said nothing more, instead pressing her wet lips into his, chastely but firmly, the two of them embracing as intimately as was respectable in public.

"We're making a habit of this in broad daylight," Yuuta smiled, pausing their kiss for a moment, his forehead resting on hers.

"I don't really care," Shinka smiled, pushing in to kiss him again.

Her lips were soft; his were warm. Shinka closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his hand on her face. Her hand crept up to his, fingers snaking around his, cupping his hand against her cheek. Shinka leaned her head further in; Yuuta pressed his mouth further into hers.

"I didn't realise you two were going to make out whilst we were on serious business," Sanae suddenly chided, causing the pair to jump and look up guiltily. Apparently quite finished with their rituals, Sanae and Rikka had crept back up on them whilst they had been otherwise occupied. Shinka worked her mouth quickly, working for an answer. "Uhh.. y-yeah. N-nothing stopping you two…" she finally managed.

Sanae raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" The blonde girl's expression, formerly self-satisfied at catching the others, turned predatory. Rikka began to stammer nervously. "D-Deko…"

Dekomori swung on a heel and took Rikka's hands, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. "How about it?" Sanae whispered, leaning back and taking a few covert glances around, before meeting Rikka's lips quietly with her own. The blue-haired girl's face suffused with blood as she blushed deepest crimson, not wanting to pull away, lips pried quickly apart by Sanae's soft surprise kiss. Rikka pressed cautiously back, very conscious of their location, caught by surprise but not unwilling.

"See, you two are just as into it." Shinka grinned, pleased. She stretched her arms behind her head, watching as the other two girls came apart, Rikka's face heated, Sanae wiping her mouth.

Rikka felt dizzy, eyes darting around, expecting a host of disapproving faces, but nobody was paying the four of them particular attention. She put a hand up to her lips and touched them. "Thanks, Sanae," she murmured, squeezing her servant's hand. "Sorry, I'm just… You know, it's different in public when its, uhm. Two girls. Like us. Rather than me and Yuuta…" She tailed off uncertainly. "But it was good, like usual…"

Dekomori grinned. "What else are servants for?"

Yuuta stood up and patted Rikka on the shoulder, hoping to reassure the girl's mild panic. "It's okay, Rikka." Rikka nodded, touching his hand back. "Yeah. I was just caught off-guard, doing it in the middle of the open like that."

He rubbed her shoulder. "Yeah. Don't feel any pressure, okay?" Rikka shook her head. "I won't. But I really did like it."

Shinka retrieved her phone and checked the time. "Alright, looks like we've plausibly wasted enough time. You said your parents' guests would be out by about four, right, Sanae? It's just nearly three, now."

Sanae looked over at her other partner. "Yeah." The blonde girl checked the time on her own phone. "Yes, seems like we're at an appropriate hour to travel back to the Fortress. Sadly my master and I were unable to summon anything from this ritual site. Perhaps when we next return."

"Mmhmm," Rikka nodded. "More research must be required. Maybe if we bring some of the aquamarine crystals, we might have more success?"

Yuuta grinned as he had an idea. Shinka said it was a minute or so before the hour. I wonder if I-

"Let me try," he said, stepping forward, splaying a hand dramatically over his face as he pointed at the dormant water feature. I hope this works. "Creature of the elemental planes of water, show yourself! In the name of the Far Eastern Magical Society of Summer!"

Rikka and Sanae gasped as the fountain seemingly came on at command, the spray of arcing water jetting away from them towards the centre of the lake, falling from high in the air. "Oooooh," Sanae marvelled, excited, eyes wide.

"Yuuta, that's so cool," Rikka marvelled, face rapt with eager joy. "How did you-"

"The magic of the Dark Flame Master works best when the four of us are present together," Yuuta winked. "Next time we come through, we'll try it together and I'll teach you the secret. Deal?"

Rikka grinned back eagerly. "Deal!" She turned to Sanae, and the two of them began to talk eagerly about the apparent impressive display they had just witnessed.

Shinka raised an eyebrow as Yuuta came back across to pick up the shopping. "How the hell did you do that? Even I'm impressed."

"Well, like we were saying earlier. We don't spend enough time doing silly chuuni things anymore. So I did it on command, obviously." He smiled, dropping his voice. "Or maybe I just took a guess that the fountain would come on at the hour mark. I'm glad it worked though."

"That was disgustingly cool for a dork like you, Togashi," Shinka said, her nose wrinkling. As Yuuta stood up with the shopping, she stood up, took his face in her hand and leaned up to kiss him again, her lips on his for another few seconds this time. Her eyes were bright as she pulled back. "Let's get home, shall we?" she smiled. "I think Rikka and Sanae's plans for you just intensified threefold."

* * *

The four of them pushed into Sanae's room again, the surroundings familiar, the door kicked shut behind them, Rikka spinning to slam home the bolt. The door shut and locked behind them, Yuuta dropped off the shopping and flexed his arms. "Ooof…"

"Now I can kiss you all like I couldn't in the park," Shinka said, leading Sanae to the bed, the girl falling onto Shinka eagerly as their lips touched. Shinka immediately sent her hands around Sanae's upper back, sucking at the other girl's bottom lip and tongue as her hands fumbled to get Sanae's vest top off. Sanae groaned, feeling the warmth of her girlfriend's soft, wet lips probing her mouth, allowing and exulting in it in equal measure. "Mmhhh," Sanae moaned, her small hum of appreciation reciprocated by Shinka.

Rikka watched them intently, not wanting to look away, before her tummy fluttered at the sight of them, and she turned to Yuuta, a bashful look on her face. "Shall we?" she asked, holding out a hand.

Yuuta stepped into her wordlessly, allowing her to lead him to the bed. He made to lead her down to the duvet, before Rikka shook her head. "Nuh-uh," Rikka said, coyly. "I want to be on top today."

Yuuta shrugged. "Absolutely fine by me."

Rikka swung her hips over Yuuta's as she leaned into his chest, her mouth open against his as her tongue pressed wetly into it. She moaned, pressing more firmly into him as she felt his hands first probe, then fully slip under her clothes. Her skin tingled where his hands roamed, warm and making her shivery in anticipation, even as she tried to drive her tongue into the back of his mouth, eyes tight-shut as she focused on the physical sensations of being with him. Yuuta hummed as her tongue slipped right over his.

Rikka grinned as she flicked open her eyes, stared into his, licking his lips playfully. "I love you, Yuuta."

"I love you too, Rikka," he replied. "Me too," Sanae managed, between her own kisses with Shinka. "And me," Shinka managed after a few more, not looking over but giving them a thumbs up in lieu of pulling away.

Rikka rubbed over Yuuta's waist, the place where he was already hard under his trousers pressing up between her thighs, her panties wet in anticipation and the friction of her cotton underwear against him and her good in that precise way that the other three of them were oh-so-good at making her feel.

"Yuuta, can we... " She looked sidelong, reticent to ask. "Can you, uhm, kiss me down there, like Sanae or Shinka does…" Rikka's hands fidgeted with his shirt, that place between her thighs aching for some more substantial contact.

"Yeah, I can," Yuuta smiled. "Let me roll you over on the bed, first, okay? Even if you want to be on top, it's hard to do it like this."

Rikka squealed in exhilaration as she was spun round, her back landing in Sanae's soft bedsheets, already eager as Yuuta ran her hands down her side, her breaths coming quicker at the touch of his fingers.. Yuuta kissed hungrily down her exposed tummy, his tongue running flat over her soft, smooth flesh, causing Rikka to gasp softly and squirm. Her expression was becoming hazy, her feelings driven more and more by desire, Yuuta's tongue hot and inciting her desire in equal measure, the warmth of his mouth on her skin maddening.

Yuuta worked his mouth over Rikka, navigating ever southward, his lips descending close over her tummy, down past her bare hips, until his tongue met the wet core of her, and Rikka's pale thighs clamped tight around his face. Undeterred, Yuuta's hot mouth enveloped her core, the feel of his hot tongue and lips clamping around her slit hot and undeniable .The taste of Rikka was enticing and strong, Yuuta not minding it in the least as he licked eagerly at her core, his tongue slipping between Rikka's lower lips and up over her clit repeatedly.

He grabbed her pelvis more firmly, the feel of his tongue warmly moving over her causing Rikka to squeal and squirm, even as his warm fingertips drove into her hips. Rikka gasped quickly, eventually deciding to put her hands in his hair and pull him in further, eager. She moaned as his tongue unceasingly worked wetly at her, licking her clit as his finger pushed slowly inside her. Rikka felt her head spin and her eyelids flicker at the pure pleasure. "Y-yu-yuuta…"

He kissed the inside of her thighs as he spoke up to her. "Cum whenever you want, Rikka. There's no rush, but no reason to hold back either."

Rikka moaned, and Yuuta pressed the attack, pressing his mouth over her clit, his tongue running up and down over the soft nub at her core, Rikka gently convulsing at the soft, wet, repeated action of his tongue over her pleasure centre. Sanae fell on the bed next to her, Shinka tired of watching and instead pulling down Sanae's leggings impatiently as she moved to do the same to the other girl. Rikka looked over at Sanae with a look of pure lust.

"Are you enjoying yourself there, mast-ahhh…" Sanae moaned as Shinka began to work at her with her own mouth, Sanae's mild teasing being lost in a flushed cavalcade of small noises. Rikka pushed her face across at the blonde girl and wrapped her lips around Sanae's.

The girls kissed each other blankly, mouths not quite finding full purchase with each other as they were respectively eaten out by the others, the delicious sensations robbing them of much capacity for further thought and causing their breaths to come fast. The effort was nice, though, and Rikka enjoyed the wet touches of Sanae's lips she was able to glean, the other girl closing her eyes and doing the same.

Being worked over at each end was too much for Rikka, who had been close already. Her body began to shake and her thighs clamped down around Yuuta's face, her chest heaving as the core of her convulsed and shook, her abdomen tightening and her pelvic muscles squeezing as Yuuta slipped a finger inside her, rubbing the top of her passage as he eagerly sucked at her core. It was bliss, and Rikka came with a series of loud gasps and cries.

"Y-Yuu-yuut-aah-"

Yuuta kept going as Rikka came around his mouth, only slowing down when her body's shaking ceased, Rikka's arched back and lifted hips providing the usual tell about when the climax had left her. He lowered her hips slowly back to the bedsheet, slipped his finger out of her and kissed her stomach wetly.

"Was that good, Rikka," he grinned up at her, the air still being filled with Sanae's own fevered noises. He looked across at her, drooling into Rikka's neck. She wouldn't last much longer.

"Yeah, that, that was really, really good, Yuuta," Rikka grinned, face crimson-pink, chest hitching as she caught her breath, thighs wet with the work of the past minutes. "I wanted to last longer but when I was kissing Sanae it just made it feel so good…"

The boy grinned. "Maybe you should kiss her whilst she finishes up then?"

Rikka nodded, craning her head back around to Sanae's and locking her lips back on the younger girl's, the blonde immediately letting out a muffled noise of pleasure. He watches as Shinka grabbed tighter into Sanae's hips, encouraged, the girl's long brown hair falling in a wave over Sanae's thighs. Rikka touched the girl's neck as they kissed, Sanae mewling at the contact from her fingertips.

It wasn't long before Sanae came as well, louder than Rikka had been, driven to the peak by Shinka's own ministrations. "Ah, Sh-Shinka... " the girl cried, turning her head away so she wasn't shouting into Rikka's face.

Shinka wiped her lips on Sanae's thigh. Smooth. She looked across at Yuuta, the two other girls panting on the bed.

"You made her cum so hard she didn't even call you Summer," Rikka noted, watching her servant's chest rise and fall, the blonde too spent to even scowl.

"Well, I'm just awesome, of course," Shinka remarked, crawling over the bed to kiss Yuuta, their mouths meeting wetly, tasting like all four of them.

Sanae panted blankly on the bedsheet. "I love weekends..."


	11. Chapter 11

Shinka didn't respond; her tongue was too busy running over Yuuta's hungrily. Her hands were at his face, her palms warm and fingers firm against the back of his head as she embraced his lips eagerly. Yuuta ran a hand up her back and Shinka moved forward into him, lips trailing down his neck. "I need you," she urged him, her hands moving knowingly, pulling off the last of his clothes without shame as he did the same for her. "Hearing how good you made Rikka feel… won't you do that for me too, Yuuta?"

"Yeah, let's feel good together," the boy urged, first unclipping and then tossing Shinka's bra past the edge of the bed. The girl was naked in front of him now, her hands already working at the hard part of him Rikka had gotten so worked up with her earlier needy grinding. Spending the time eating her out hadn't lessened his need any, and he gasped as his own fingers met Shinka's wet arousal between her legs, the girl closing her eyes as she felt his fingers meet her. "Wow, you're really wet."

Shinka stared at him as she continued to move her own hand. "Yeah, I wonder why." The look she gave him made his chest hurt, her face peaked in desire, her lips pursing open as he touched her gently. "Mmmh... that feels good, though."

"Yeah, your fingers feel great, too," the boy gasped, her own fingers moving up and down his length welcome and hot, the soft tips of her fingers tracing up over the head of him and causing his erection to strain under a rhythmic wave of anticipation. "You've gotten better at this," Yuuta said, face turning redder as he was beginning to struggle, the electric way she touched him leaving him aching for more.

"So have you," Shinka said, curtly, pressing her lips back into his, the soft noises of their mouths meeting filling the room, until the bedsprings lurched into creaky life. Sanae crawled up behind Shinka and started kissing her back, causing the girl to moan quietly. "You made me feel really good, Summer. Let me and Rikka help you reach your own deathly climax, okay?"

Shinka grunted, her face engaged in a wet battle with her partner's bare shoulder as she tried to focus on the feeling of his probing fingers without completely and immediately surrendering, the warm wet kisses on the small of her back and the delicate hands around her hips helping in absolutely no fashion in that regard. "I, we need to do something more, Yuuta," Shinka said, head spinning, chest thumping, the ache between her thighs high and interminable and desperate for her to be with a lover more properly. "This feels great, but I want more of you."

"I have an idea," Sanae grinned. "How are you doing over there, Master?"

Rikka blew her fringe out of her face, the girl just about recovering from before. "Drained. Your…" The girl smiled dreamily as she thought about it. "You really made me cum hard for you, Yuuta. Hopefully you can make Shinka feel just as good."

"I thought that you could help with that, Master," Sanae continued. She leaned up to her other lover's ear. "Lie down on top of Rikka."

Shinka gave Yuuta a final squeeze and crawled over to where Rikka was lying on the plush pink duvet, falling eagerly onto the blue-haired girl; Rikka immediately wrapped her hands around Shinka and began to kiss her.

"Now you and Summer can engage in the act infernal," Sanae cooed, watching Shinka's high hips as the girl kneeled over Rikka's waist.

Yuuta crawled up behind the two prostrate girls, hand tracing down Shinka's back to her slim waist. "Are you okay with this, Shinka?"

"If I wasn't ready I wouldn't have crawled over here with my hips in the air, Togashi," Shinka growled, her need encompassing much further thought. " _"Please._ "

The boy gently guided her hips lower, the three of them subtly shifting as they found the most efficient position, knees shifting as Shinka continued her exploration of Rikka's willing and open mouth. Then, Yuuta slipped inside her, the long wind-up time leaving her soaking and him hard and eager. "Aaah, Sh-Shinka," Yuuta gasped, her cunt enveloping him fully and swiftly, the boy almost able to fall into her. All other thought immediately left his brain. All he could think of was the the heat of her around his erection.

Shinka felt him push into her, heard his cry of pleasure, and her own moan fled from her body; sudden, loud and breathy. " _God_ , Yuuta, you feel so good," she managed from her position breathing into Rikka's neck, once speech came back, the boy's hands on her hips and his thrusts inside her beginning to find a steady pace, the feeling of being with him long overdue. "Haah, why is this always so good…"

The girl under Shinka grinned, Shinka's face a mix of indecent expressions; the lewd way her face looked causing Rikka to giggle lightly. "We all love you, Shinka."

Sanae's hands snaked up around Yuuta's chest as she pressed against the back of him, four sets of legs cascading over and between each other at this end, the girl finding a steady position to kneel as he continued moving with Shinka. "Mmmm, now this is hot," Dekomori marvelled, satisfied at her own suggestion. Her fingers traced gently over his skin, another layer of physical touch to the coupling that Yuuta could only breathe out at, already lost in all sensation.

The room filled with the sound of their touching hips and a series of quiet noises of pleasure. Shinka leaned forward and claimed Rikka's lips again, resuming their kissing, more messy and open this time as Shinka's breaths were coming quicker, but no less good.

"Cum whenever you want, Shinka," Rikka said coyly, between kisses, echoing her partner's words from earlier. "There's no rush, but no reason to hold back either."

Sanae urged them on, too. "I love watching you take such care of all of us," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I love watching Shinka get _fucked_. Cum inside her, Yuuta. Rikka and I want to see you both feel good. Just let go whenever you want."

Yuuta moaned as Sanae continued to rub his sides, the girl he was coupling with collapsing into Rikka's chest; Rikka's hands reaching down to rub Shinka's knees and lower thighs. "Aaahh," Shinka moaned blankly as Yuuta's movements rocked her hips, the way he felt inside her so good and needed, the orgasm in her starting to build at Sanae's dirty talk. "Fuuuck, Sanae, ah, more of that," she pleaded.

"I like watching you too," Rikka added, hand beginning to move slowly up Shinka's inner thigh, up to caress her tummy. "It's gonna be hot when you cum around Yuuta's cock and with my hand on your clit." Rikka began to edge her fingertips slowly downward, Shinka beginning to whine and squirm.

"Make sure you cum inside her so we can clean her up afterwards, Yuuta," Sanae crooned, her body pressed hot into his back, the movement of her small breasts against his shoulder slight but maddening to him. He groaned. Sanae's suggestion felt like it wouldn't take long to fulfil.

"I, ah, I am so close," he moaned, involuntary groans escaping his mouth, face tight in the way it always was before he came. "S-Shinka, I, I love you," he urged desperately.

"Y-y-ye-ah-yeah," Shinka could only just manage to speak, entirely concentrating on how he was filling her up, the pleasant feel of his flesh against her butt and the back of her thighs, the way her thighs and calf muscles were on fire pushed forward under him like this, the way Rikka's skin under her was so soft and the maddening way that the girl was about to touch her clit any moment now please already-

Rikka's fingertips slipped gently over Shinka's pubic mound, pressing lightly into the girl's core, and it was over. Shinka clamped her mouth down around Rikka's neck, a muffled shaking series of cries coming as she came, and came hard. "Mmff-"

Rikka's fingers continued to rub Shinka's core as the orgasm rushed through her. Rikka moaned as Shinka stifled herself in her neck. The slight hint of teeth in her skin was hot, the way she could feel Yuuta thrusting inside her lover at the tip of her fingers as she continued to help Shinka feel good was hot, having an attractive girl coming around her fingers was hot. Rikka kissed desperately back at Shinka's neck as the girl's body shook and her insides clamped tight around Yuuta.

Her coupling partner couldn't do much but groan, his face sweaty, Shinka's climax exciting and tempting for his own ends, the way she squeezed him making it near-imminent.

Sanae delivered the finishing blow from behind him. "Don't hold back," she urged, "show us how good we make you feel." She licked his shoulder suggestively, warmly. Yuuta registered a distant heat at his back as his mind turned blank.

The boy let out a primal grunt as he came inside Shinka, Sanae tight against his back as he came, firing long and hard inside the panting girl so intimately connected with him. "Sh-Shink-aaaah-"

The two of them came undone together, Shinka breathing heavy into Rikka's neck as Yuuta filled her with his cum, the warm, sticky feeling of him inside her so welcome as usual. As the afterglow set in, she gulped down air, her limbs collapsing. Yuuta pulled out of her, exhausted to the same degree. Shinka rolled over so she wouldn't crush Rikka, gasping for breath as she lay on her back, the ceiling almost swimming as her heart pounded in her ears.

Sanae helped Yuuta down as he fell back, spent, casting her eyes over the two trembling wrecks. "Yeah, I thought that would be good for you two," she announced, imperiously.

Yuuta waved his hand blankly, unable to even look up. "Y-yeah," he panted. Shinka didn't have the energy to even speak. She just shot Sanae a blind thumbs up, before her arm fell slack to the bed.

To the side of her, Rikka sat up, looking over at Sanae. "Did you find that… I mean… do you need to… as much as I do now…"

Her servant's expression mirrored the need in Rikka's own face. "Yeah," Sanae said.

Rikka nodded. "Together or…"

Sanae crawled over to where Rikka was sitting on the bed and coaxed her thighs open. Rikka quickly fell back onto the bed and sent a hand into Sanae's hair as Sanae used her mouth, but not to say any more words.

* * *

An hour later, the four of them were under the covers together, utterly sated, drowsy with each other's heat. Yuuta ran his hand through Rikka's hair as she dozed on his chest.

"Next weekend, let's go to my family's beach house," Sanae suggested, from her reciprocal position on top of Shinka, quite content to use the other girl's assets as a pillow.

"You think? It was cool when we went there last summer, but summer's over, pretty much," Yuuta said. "But if it means we could have the place to ourselves for the weekend, I guess it's a good idea. Could you arrange that?"

"Yuuta, the Mjolnir Hammer is from a long, storied history of agents with multiple avenues of contact and inquiry. Respectfully, leveraging my contacts to secure the four of us a deathly bunker for a weekend would be a paltry task for one of my powers."

"Being alone with each other would be cool for more than just this," Shinka remarked, eyes closed. "This weekend has made me yearn for the day when we can have our own space together. I'm glad we can come here, Sanae, but having to sneak around between your place and Yuuta's is just a tiny bit lame."

"Maybe… maybe next year we can do that," Rikka offered. "I don't really know how that's going to work, yet. Whatever each of us want to do. But it would really be cool if... I would hope…" She paused, thinking of the words. "I want to find some way to still be together."

Dekomori frowned. "If you are suggesting mere geography would cause us to stop this, Master, I will sadly have to turn against you. Whilst it _would_ be an epic arc for me to rebel against my master for an affair of the heart, the outcome would be most deadly to our dynamic."

"I have no idea what I want to do next year," Yuuta sighed. "It seems surreal. But we only have so many months left of school. Except Sanae, I guess, who has that accounted for for next year."

Shinka scowled, eyes still closed. "Yeah, the future is a bit scary, but it will work. I love all of you too much for it not to."

"Can we really do this?" Rikka asked, fidgeting. "I mean, I so want it to, but…"

Shinka patted Sanae on the head, grinning. "Sanae's dirt rich, remember. We'll just have to get her to plead convincingly to get her parents to fund a one-bedroom place in the city for next year. After all, we'd only need one bed..."

"How very presumptuous," Sanae snorted. "I mean. I could certainly ask if we could have a house together."

Shinka opened her eyes. "Wait, I was just joking around. No way your parents would actually do that, right?"

A faint blush settled on Sanae's cheeks. "Well, I certainly wouldn't be telling them it was for a romantic tetraptych. That said, sometimes I get the impression that they have their suspicions. They certainly already know about you and I."

"Wouldn't they have said something?" Yuuta asked.

"Our contact with my servant's parents has been… relatively minimal," Rikka said. "Though if they are anything like the Priestess, they will have ways of finding out."

Sanae hummed as she thought on it. "I think they know we spend more time together than friends normally do. And… considering I really don't want to be split up from all of you for a year, I would tell them if it came to it."

"Let's see about one thing at a time," Shinka suggested. "Having our own space for one weekend sounds nice, so long as it doesn't interfere with whatever crucial scheme the three of you are in on."

"All in good time," Yuuta said. "Let's see how next week goes."

* * *

They made it two days into the week with nothing more exciting than the change from summer to winter uniform. Rikka had gently been dissuaded from hanging her blazer from her shoulders as a cape, the colder autumn day perhaps being a better motivator than anything else.

Planning their surprise was more difficult. Yuuta had the items in his pocket; he and Rikka had agreed to wait until the time seemed naturally fitting for anything to happen. Two days passed with nothing more exciting in the clubroom than rushed homework, more longing glances between each other, and the occasional sneaked kiss before going home again to kiss less hurriedly.

The middle of the week came. Lessons dispensed with, the four of them were in the clubroom again. Yuuta's head was lying in Sanae's lap, the boy lying on his back as his head rested on Sanae's crossed legs. Sanae was leaning against the window, reading a book in one hand and playing idly with his hair with the other.

He scowled from her lap. "Don't mess it up too much. People will ask questions."

"Say you tripped and fell," Sanae said, idly, engrossed in her book.

"That's for bruises," Yuuta scolded.

"Ahhh!" Rikka yelped from the opposite side of the kotatsu, interrupting their mild argument as her phone began to ring. She flipped it open, face turning panicked.

"Who is it?" Shinka asked, putting her pen down.

"T-The Priestess…" Rikka looked like she was clutching a hot coal between her two hands.

"Your sister?" Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were on good terms now?"

"I may have forgottentocallherattheweekend-"

"You'd better answer her now then," Yuuta said.

Rikka nodded, determined. "Okay." She answered the call. "Priestess…"

"Rikka." Touka's voice was more dispassionate than usual through the distance and the phone. "You didn't call me at the weekend."

Rikka stammered uncertainly, the phone held rigid to her ear in tight, white knuckles. "Sorry, Priestess. W-We…" Her eyes darted around the room for an explanation, finding Shinka's closed copybook. "We formed a study group, so I was really busy..."

"A study group."

"Right." Rikka closed her eyes. "A… A group of specialized scholars, unlocking the mysteries of maths and sciences."

"I see. So, am I to expect better grades this fall semester?" the voice over the phone asked.

Rikka audibly winced. "Hauuu…"

Touka let out an audible tsk. "Come on, Rikka. You've never been much for studying. What are you really up to? Don't let that boyfriend of yours ruin your school career."

Rikka worked her jaw, helplessly, motioning with her hands to the others. "He doesn't… I love him. And as for my other friends. I-I.. I am learning a lot from them..."

"Uh huh…" Unseen, Touka was scowling on the other end. "Give the phone to Togashi."

Rikka reluctantly held out the phone to Yuuta, hand trembling.

Yuuta scrambled from Sanae's lap, accepting the phone gingerly, only raising the phone to his ear with reluctance. "Hello?"

"You will answer with yes or no only," came the voice at the other end. "Understood?"

He swallowed a nervous breath. "...Yes?" His voice was definitely higher than normal.

"Did you have sex with my sister?"

Yuuta's voice died in his mouth. "A-Ah…"

A sigh came from the other end of the line. "Did you at least use protection?"

Yuuta's eyebrows shot up in alarm "Y-yes… we do."

Touka's tone was unrelenting. "Did she enjoy herself?"

Yuuta looked at Rikka, who was against the clubroom window, looking at him, tense, fists balled in her skirt. Yuuta tried to shoot back an encouraging smile. It was weak. The boy swallowed. "Uh… y-yes…"

"Did you?"

Yuuta coughed on his own spit. "Yes…" he finally managed.

Touka took a moment. "You… You're serious about this right? You're not just screwing around with her."

Yuuta took a deep breath. "I might be terrified of you, Touka-san, but I'm nothing but respectful with your sister. She and I… well, you know how we are, I guess. I love her, I'm sure enough of that." At this, Rikka shot a bright smile at Yuuta. There was a long pause on the other end of the line."Alright. I can live with that." After a few moments, Touka spoke again. "Give the phone back to Rikka."

Yuuta palmed the phone back to Rikka's waiting hand, relinquishing it clumsily. Rikka tentatively raised the phone back to her ear. "Hello?"

"Rikka. Give the phone to that weird friend of yours," Touka stated, matter-of-factly.

"This is a real interrogation," Rikka said quietly, covering the speaker as she held the phone out to Shinka, who stretched an uncertain hand out to take it, before raising it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Who the hell is this? I meant the other weird one. Give the phone to the other girl. I assume the four of you are as inseparable as ever."

"Sorry, Takanashi-san," Shinka began to splutter, "clearly you weren't specific. Just a moment…" Shinka waved the phone towards Sanae, speaker still open. "Take it," Shinka mouthed.

"Yes, it's Dekomori-san," Sanae pronounced, raising the phone to her face, all solemn courtesy. "How can I help you, Takanashi-san?"

"You will answer with yes or no only," came the monotone voice on the other end. "Understood?"

"Yes, I can deathly do that," Sanae said, the others looking at her cautiously. "What do you need?"

"I want to know if Togashi is serious in his relations with my sister. Would you know about that?"

Sanae took a breath, reaching into her politest upbringing, sitting up and straightening her chest as she began to speak. "Your sister and Togashi-san are very close, yes. Your sister and I maintain various ethereal links… Whether she and Togashi-san are in relations or not…" Sanae looked sidelong, knowing firsthand what kind of relations those were. "...Well, it seems likely that they are. And from what I've seen, neither of them seem very unhappy about it."

Touka sighed. "That's at least two confirmations to them being involved. Alright, I can accept that. Still, if our little chase escapade meant something to you, I expect you and the taller one to keep an eye on them for me. Keep yourself involved in their relationship."

Sanae looked at Shinka, fiddling with her skirt on the other end of the kotatsu. "Rikka and Yuuta mean a lot to us," Sanae said. "Rest assured they are close to our hearts."

A silence came over the other end of the telephone, before Touka began talking again, her tone more suspicious. "You're 17 and you talk like this? Disgusting. Give the phone to the tall one. You know who I mean."

Sanae held out Rikka's phone towards Shinka, her face expressionless. "Good luck," Sanae mouthed.

Shinka stared at the cellphone screen, slowly raised the phone to her ear. "H-Hello?"

"The sensible one. Hello. Remember me?"

Shinka scowled as she cast her mind back to the events of the spring. Bleary images of Touka taking a picture of her in bed filled her mind. "I could hardly forget," she said, mildly scathing.

"Togashi admitted that he's had sex with Rikka. Is he treating her right?"

Her mind filled with the memory of Rikka squirming under his mouth at the weekend. "They seem to enjoy each other's company. At least whenever I've been watching." _Wait. Bad turn of phrase._

"Do you watch them do that a lot?"

"Uhm, I didn't mean to use those words." Shinka sighed inwardly. _At least not with you._

"Sure. Do I need to worry about you two messing around with her as well?"

Shinka's brain ceased to function.

"Uhhh…"

"The midget was very convincing but I want the truth. I don't know what kind of friends you are but you've always seemed very close. Are you serious with Rikka? Can I trust you two to look after her like Togashi does?"

Shinka worked her mouth helplessly, not knowing what to say. She looked at the other three in the room; all of them looked expectant, tense, waiting. Shinka began to stammer. "I-I-" She screwed up her eyes, before standing up hurriedly and running to the open window. Yuuta and Sanae gasped as they watched Shinka throw the phone out the window, the device tracking a lazy parabola to the border of the sports field, opposite the path. Rikka ran to the window looking for the target of the trajectory. Yuuta gave Shinka a thumbs up.

"Nice throw," he smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "That's certainly one approach to dealing with Touka..."

Rikka turned back from the window, unsure what to say, eyes wide at Shinka's reaction. "M-My phone," she whimpered. "How could you do that, Shinka?!"

Shinka felt immediately guilty, the wavering shocked expression on Rikka's face sending a pang through her chest. The girl walked up to Rikka and took her hands in hers, kissing her slowly on the forehead. "Sorry, Rikka," Shinka began, contrite; her eyes were closed, the girl's demeanour mildly panicked, too. "Your sister is terrifying. I just… I just panicked, okay? I'm so sorry…"

Rikka wrapped her arms around Shinka. "Did she ask you questions you couldn't answer?"

Shinka looked away, off to the side, towards the clubroom wall. "I'm not a good liar, Rikka. I can pretend, but I'm no good at outright lies. And your sister was asking me if Sanae and I were going to treat you like Yuuta does. I didn't know what to say, and your sister would have found me guilty if I had said anything. I couldn't think in time. I'm sorry…"

Sanae grinned at the distraught pair hugging in the middle of the clubroom. "Not to interject.. But in all honestly, we _are_ guilty of just that. If we're going to get caught by anyone, isn't it better that it's your deathly distant sister?"

Yuuta scowled. "You say that, but you know how Touka acts. If she's suspicious, she'll send agents after us! Conceal cameras and recording devices to capture our innermost thoughts!"

"I think Shinka just threw one of her recording devices out of the window," Rikka pouted.

Shinka rubbed Rikka's hair, trying to look contrite. "Sorry again throwing your phone away, Rikka. I really did panic."

Rikka nodded into where she was hugging Shinka's stomach. "It's ok, Shinka. Phones can be replaced. You can't. Besides, we might be able to go look for it when we go home." Rikka pulled her arms back, fingertips tracing down Shinka's bare arms as she freed her hands. "The Priestess is a fearsome adversary, but our relations are fearsome too, are they not? If it comes to a battle of our bonds versus her powers of interference, I don't doubt we could win."

Yuuta scowled. "Your sister might be 6,000 miles away, but she could show up unannounced! You know how much she loves to do that! She'll catch us completely unawares and take us all out!"

Rikka looked uncertain. "You think…."

Shinka shook her head. "Given the way she chased me and Sanae after you two over the spring holiday… I''m willing to bet she's not actually going to punish us now that she confirmed the facts she probably already knew."

Yuuta, Sanae and Rikka looked at her blankly.

"I think she just wants to make sure we're all being genuine with Rikka. The last question she asked me if I was serious about Rikka; and… well… I am…"

Yuuta nodded "We know that. But admitting it to Touka… no wonder you tossed the phone away."

Shinka folded her arms, hands looking for empty reassurance under her forearms. "Touka probably just wants to know we're looking out for Rikka. I doubt she imagines what we've actually fallen into. But given that kind of overreaction… it probably doesn't help us loook less guilty."

Yuuta coughed; Sanae fidgeted with her twintails. Rikka took Shinka's hand. "I love you," she murmured.

Shinka's lips moved slightly; only a very quiet sound came out. "Yeah. I love you a lot, Rikka," she admitted, louder this time. "I love you. But I'm not ready to tell Touka about that."

Yuuta grinned. "What was that, Shinka? I don't think you were quite loud enough there."

Shinka reached down and threw her pencilcase at Yuuta. He caught it in midair. "Nice try." He set it down on the kotatsu, looking at Rikka. "If we're all on the same page. Dealing with Rikka's sister… Heck, all of our families, for that matter. Do we just pretend forever? I know that's what we agreed, but we need to figure this out at some point."

Rikka turned her head to him and smiled. "I love you," she said, louder this time. "All of you, too. Yuuta and Sanae and Shinka. If my sister or my mother or your parents find out… I could live with that," she admitted, eyes shining.

Sanae scowled. "Touka is gonna find out first, you know. For definite."

"Find out that each of us is infatuated with all of the other three of us? That I love all of you to a stupid degree and above everything else?" Shinka looked away. "I do… I do, dammit, but I'm still not ready for _our families_ to know that."

"Pathetic," Sanae smirked. "To see the divine Summer shirk from the Mabinogion's teachings. Don't you know that love conquers all?"

Shinka's eyes could have shot daggers as she shot out a retort. "Shut up! You're just as nervous about this as I am!"

Sanae blinked. "Well, just a bit." She blustered as she realised her admission, replacing indecision with action. "We should plan the climactic showdown with Touka immediately," Sanae professed, moving over to one of the clubroom's cabinets, and retrieving a huge roll of what looked like blueprint paper. Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"Planning," Sanae said, spreading the roll of prussian-blued paper out on the kotatsu, blank. She took up a sharp pencil in hand motioning Rikka forward. "Let's see what we can develop to thwart the Priestess," Sanae said; Rikka nodded nervously, watching her servant begin to scrawl rough markings on the blueprint paper.

Yuuta rubbed his eyes. _Somehow, I'm reluctant to believe this chuuni stuff will actually help._ He shook his head, trying to return to normalcy, giving a last forlorn look out to the distant grass for any sight of Rikka's phone. Resigned to the loss, he stepped away, moving over to put a hand on Shinka's shoulder. She had been staring into the middle-distance, jumping slightly when she felt his hand hit. Shinka reached back for him with her own hand, smiling at him. "Hey, you," she said.

Yuuta flashed a reassuring look. "Hey, you. Are you okay?"

Shinka hesitated, before turning to face him, and pulling him into a hug. "I will be. I'm just nervous, and concerned with what others think of me again. Whenever I get like this, Sanae normally antagonizes me until I get frustrated and start fighting back. Because Rikka's here, she got distracted."

The boy rubbed her back, gently. "If you're up for some sparring, I'm game. We do a good job of teasing each other, I think."

Shinka nestled her face into his shoulder, hugging tighter. "It wouldn't be the same. You're too nice… What we're doing right now is enough."

She felt another set of arms wrap around her waist from behind. Small, lithe, unsleeved. "No fair, hugging Yuuta like that."

Shinka chuckled. "You're unbelievably possessive, Rikka, you know that?"

Yuuta chuckled too. "She's owned up to it by now. I'm hers and she's mine."

Sanae had continued scribbling machinations on sheets of paper, an empire of scrawls spreading over the prussian-blue; a minute later she looked up to everyone else hugging. The girl grinned devilishly. "Hmmm, that's how it is..?"

Sanae disappeared from sight, before squeezing up between the midst of them, pushing Yuuta and Shinka apart in a deft reappearance, the two adjusting their hug to accomodate her in the middle. Sanae grinned as she looked up at Shinka, and gave her a peck on the nose. Shinka scowled. "You're mine too, you dork."

"And you mine," added Sanae. "Touka or no, I love all of you. Let's hug this out."

The four of them held their pose for a few moments, the mutual warmth of their quartet enough to keep them holding on. "Mmmm... " Shinka smiled "This is remarkably nice…"

Rikka broke away from them, fidgeting as she thought, taking a step back to regard the others. "We need to finalize that new contract of lovers with all four of us," she said, her voice low.

"That sounds amazingly lame," Shinka sighed. A pause filled the air, before her expression softened. "Yeah, Rikka. Let's do it now whilst I'm not so self-conscious to hate it."

The others separated as Rikka and Sanae nodded at each other, sweeping away the club ephemera to clear the floor, quickly working in tandem to start setting up a magic circle on the ground.

Shinka smiled dreamily as she watched the other two girls chalk out an incantation circle on the floor. "Did she do this when you two made your contracts, Yuuta?"

Yuuta smiled wryly. "Last time, we finalized it here in the club room when you guys weren't there. Rikka said a bunch of fancy words, did some gestures, and then we made promises to each other while standing atop the circle. You know, standard stuff."

"Hmm." Shinka folded her arms. "That's actually kinda romantic, I guess, now that I think about it. Sanae and I kinda just went with the flow. I wonder why we didn't do something like this?"

Sanae spoke from the floor, still drawing the circle with chalk in tandem with Rikka. "This ritual is not needed for beings learned in the teachings of Mori Summer. You are perfectly knowledgeable about it. Hence no need for a prior ritual," she intoned. "However, for a ritual involving this many persons, a true circle must be drawn, and vows made. So prepare yourself."

Shinka's face flushed. "Vows? Isn't that basically some sort of wedding ceremony…" Her cheeks turned pink. "It's..." She looked over at Yuuta. "I.. I didn't prepare…"

Yuuta touched her unsteady hands, gently. "Relax, Shinka."

Sanae spoke with the chalk between her fingers. "A contract between the two of us would have been redundant," she intoned. "But know that I am herein happy to do so. This ritual is not just for my Master and her lover's sake. This involves all of us."

Shinka looked desperately at Yuuta, all pretense at confidence departing. "What.. what is this…?"

Yuuta surreptitiously pulled some small boxes out of his jacket, the garment folded on the floor. "Nothing you don't want," he said.

Shinka looked between the three of them, the two other girls having drawn the circle on the clubroom floor, now standing back and looking at her. Rikka moved forwards and took her hand. Shinka's eyes flitted between the three people looking at her, her body recoiling back from the scene as if it were burning. "What is this," she repeated, with a panicked haste in her whispered voice. Yuuta smiled wickedly and touched her free hand. "Are you ready?"

Shinka pulled her hand in front of her, opening it and looking; she saw a pentagram drawn on her palm with a marker. She stared at it with a neutral expression. "I'm one more stupid thing away from just walking out of this."

Rikka held up her own palm, on the hand mirroring Shinka's. "We match, Shinka."

Shinka's lips parted slightly as she looked into Rikka's eyes. She felt strangely mesmerized. Rikka smiled. "Take my hand," she said, holding up an open palm. Shinka reluctantly pressed her palm against Rikka's pentagrammed palm, the warmth of the girl's hand comforting. Rikka wrapped her fingers into the space between Shinka's fingers. It felt nice.

"That's the easy part," Yuuta said, next to her. "This is the real surprise." He held out a small box to her. "Open this and find out."

Shinka recoiled, her free hand reaching for the box, her hand trembling as she reached out. She took the small, square box in her right hand, eyes widening as she fumbled to open it. Her uncertain expression turned instantly into a scowl as she opened it with a thumb, and she registered the fact that it was empty. She squinted at Yuuta, derisively. "What is this, some kind of joke?"

"If that's how you feel I wouldn't look at what Rikka did to your hand."

Nibutani looked at her hand, sigil-laden, pressed against Rikka's. "What did she-"

Shinka noticed the newly-slid ring on her left ring finger, expression dropping, mouth working silently, lost for words. Rikka beamed at her.

"SHINKA NIBUTANI, WE BEAR WITNESS TO YOUR VOWS," Yuuta exclaimed in his Dark Flame Master voice.

"What!?" Shinka said in surprise. Before she could react further, Rikka's fingers, already interlocked with hers, clamped down, Rikka moving to face Shinka opposite.

Sanae smiled from the edge of the chalk circle that they had inscribed. "Remember what I said in the bathtub, Summer. You'd never be here if you didn't want this."

Shinka began to stammer nervously. "I-I-I-" Her lips worked helplessly.

"SPEAK NOW," Yuuta continued in the alternate persona, throwing out a dramatic gesture at the two standing central. "LET THINE HEARTS BE LAID BARE AND THINE FATES BE INTERTWINED. YOUR VOWS. SPEAK THEM."

Shinka looked panicked, brushing her hair back with her free hand. "Togashi, you're not helping me stay calm about this!" She felt Rikka's fingers squeeze her hand, where they were joined. Her palm felt sweaty. She was sure the ink Rikka had put there would be indecipherable already. Rikka grinned and began to speak.

"I, RIKKA TAKANASHI, ONCE EYE OF THE WICKED LORD, CALL UPON HIS POWER ONE LAST TIME, TO BRING POWER TO THESE WORDS."

Shinka felt an intense shiver radiate from the point she and Rikka were touching, running across her entire body.

"I LOVE YOU, SHINKA NIBUTANI. I GIVE MYSELF TO YOU. I GIVE MY LOVE. I GIVE MY HAPPINESS. I GIVE MY GRIEF. UNTIL THE DAY THIS PACT IS BROKEN, ON THE DAY THIS UNIVERSE ENDS, I AM YOURS."

Shinka felt her heart tremble at Rikka's words. These were literally wedding vows.

A nervous energy welled up inside Shinka. Her power and confidence swelled and nearly burst from her seams. She summoned it forth into voice.

"I, SHINKA NIBUTANI, ONCE THE GREAT MAGICIAN, MORI SUMMER, CALL UPON THE EMOTIONAL COILS OF THE UNIVERSE TO HEAR MY WORDS OF POWER. I LOVE YOU, RIKKA TAKANASHI. I GIVE MYSELF TO YOU. MY LOVE. MY PRIDE. MY VITRIOL. UNTIL THE DAY THIS PACT IS BROKEN, WHEN ENTROPY FINALLY OVERCOMES THE POWER OF LOVE, I AM YOURS."

There was a genuine feeling of release as the words escaped her lips, a blistering sensation of heat and emotion leaving her feeling faint and earnest at the same time, even as Rikka grinned at the reception of them, her eyes honest and unwavering.

Yuuta swept his arms outward. "IT IS DONE. LOVERS, YOU SEEKETH BE. LOVERS, YOU HAVE BECOME. GO NOW AND UNLEASH YOUR NEW POWER."

Rikka quickly pulled Shinka into a passionate kiss, hands still intertwined. Shinka let out a quiet moan as Rikka's lips touched hers. In the span of a few minutes they had become more. It was dizzying.

"Are these contract finalizations always so overwhelming?" Sanae asked next to Yuuta, holding her hand against her chest.

Yuuta snorted. "Hardly. I just think Shinka needed it to be so she'd go through with it."

A low rumbling filled the room as Yuuta pronounced these words. He realised after a few seconds the clubroom was still; only another phone was ringing, one from his blazer pocket. He pulled it out and looked, his face paling. "It's Touka," Yuuta said in horror.

Rikka and Shinka abruptly pulled apart from their kiss. "Answer it, Yuuta!" Shinka hissed, wiping her mouth.

"Why me?" Yuuta hissed. "I already got my interrogation done with!"

"Yeah, and you're better at dealing with her than any of us!"

"Oh, are you kidding m—You know what? Fine."

Yuuta took a breath to compose himself and pressed the answer button. "Hello?" he said.

On the other end, silence. Eventually, Touka spoke.

"You, Rikka, and your friends need to come clean. Right now."

Yuuta bit the inside of his cheek. He swallowed determinedly. "That's the thing, Touka," he said, feeling like his mouth was full of rocks, his delivery desperately deadpan. "We're not friends, Touka. Not anymore." He took another steadying breath. "Friends don't do this sort of thing with each other."

"I see…"

The dial of a disconnected call filled his ear. Touka had hung up.

* * *

 **A cliffhanger! Well, Yuuta has let the cat out of the bag. Wonder how that's going to go down...**

 **Once again (huge) thanks to Redler Red7 who helped with writing the last confession scene in such a powerful fashion. (You should go read his works, they're even better!)**

 **There aren't too many more chapters of this story to come until we reach the end, now. As ever, let me know what you thought!**


	12. Chapter 12

Silence reigned over the clubroom as Yuuta snapped shut the phone in his hand. He set it quietly on the top of the kotatsu, blowing his cheeks out reflexively, trying to divest the weight of certain doom immediately settling on his shoulders.

"Yuuta…" Rikka began, uncertainly, looking unsteadily across at him. "I… I know the Priestess is a long way away, but was telling her something like that really the best thing to say?"

"Yeah, when I said to deal with her, I didn't really expect you to just tell her what was really going on," Shinka said, closing the distance to Yuuta, who was still staring at the table. He didn't look up as she stepped behind him. Shinka put a hand on his shoulder, her face softening slightly, before she pressed her lips to his shoulder blade. "No, wait, that's not fair. This was my fault in the first place. I couldn't do any better than you did."

Yuuta dipped his head, grateful, reaching up blindly to touch Shinka's hand back.

"Thanks," he whispered.

The boy ran a hand through his hair, looking at the ceiling of the club room for solutions. He turned to Rikka, the girl clutching the hem-edge of her school blouse in indecision.

"Your sister is terrifying and sharp, Rikka. She already knew something was up," Yuuta offered. "But… if we can admit to each other how seriously we feel about each other, to the point of making vows to each other in the middle of the clubroom, I just… I just didn't have the energy to lie to her." He blinked slowly, thinking about what he'd said to Touka, feeling hollow. "Sorry. I guess I probably just made a thousand more issues for us."

Rikka strode slowly over, burying her face into Yuuta's shoulder, releasing a deep and tired sigh. "Yeah, we're so dead."

Sanae stammered into life, too, looking a tad paler than previously. "N-Nevermind the vows, what about all the other stuff we've done together? Imagine Touka-san knowing that about us…" Dekomori tailed off, heat rising to her face, looking the other three over. "To think you made a tantamount admission to our deathly involvements!" The girl put a hand to her head, remembering the trauma of Touka's ladle. "She'll have our heads for this…"

"The woman already recorded us multiple times without our knowledge and quizzed us with it," Yuuta rebutted. "She probably already knows about everything we've done with each other. Well, if she didn't, I basically just confessed it, yeah."

Rikka looked down at her toes, dejected. "So... we need to move out of the country. Before the Priestess arrives and tracks us down."

Yuuta delivered a short chop to her forehead. "Sensible solutions only, please."

Shinka closed her eyes as she slowly started chuckling. "Oh," she laughed, "what a rabbit hole we've dug for ourselves!"

Sanae frowned, the blonde girl striking a battle pose and flaring her hand towards Shinka. "This is not a laughing matter, Shinka Nibutani," she said sternly, Shinka centred in the palm of her hand like a crosshair. "This is a grave threat to our continued operation!"

Shinka continued laughing. She opened her eyes. "You say that, yet here you are with your ridiculous posing." She stepped over, batting Sanae's outstretched hand aside, putting her hands on Sanae's shoulders. The smaller girl did a double-take, and then put her head to Shinka's chest, leaning into her. "I'm serious, Shinka… I like how things are between us all."

"Yeah, me too, Sanae," Shinka said. "But, unless you all have enough saved up for plane tickets, a visa, and expenses for living quarters and food, we won't be able to run away from this. And besides, only Yuuta and Rikka can leave since they're the only ones with apartments of their own. My parents aren't going to consent to an impromptu trip abroad. Your parents might. And I'm sure you could fund this entire trip for us, but you can't make it permanent. We. Have. Lost."

Sanae pouted into Shinka's shoulder. "So you're just giving up?"

"Of course not." Shinka looked past Sanae's blonde hair to Rikka and Yuuta. "I'm saying that running away is already a lost cause. I'm saying that keeping this secret is a lost cause. Leaving only one solution."

Yuuta waved an open hand. "... Which is?"

"Our only option is to face the problem head on. We're all adults now, right?"

"Uhh, sorta? Except," Yuuta vaguely gestured to Sanae. "You know."

"Okay, most of us are adults. Pedant."

"I count only for the Acts Infernal," Sanae muttered. "Real majority comes at age 20, anyway."

Shinka threw her hands in the air. "God, fine, whatever, we're not adults yet! But we're old enough to understand that we can't always pretend reality doesn't exist. Lots of us have a special indulgence in that regard, but when it comes to the relationship between us all, we can't afford to mess around."

All of them looked down guiltily.

Shinka sighed. "We need to deal with this maturely, which means not running away."

Rikka spoke up. "What does that mean?"

"Let's just be honest with her," Yuuta sighed. "She already knows what's going on, so how much worse could it get? After the antics she put Shinka and Sanae through to chase after us, I feel like she can't be completely cold blooded. If that's the case, I think we can reason with her."

Shinka's lips curled. "I don't think polyamorous double-pairings _are_ particularly reasonable, Yuuta."

"You might be right," Yuuta admitted. He had to smile at that. "You know, I almost miss the days when I was worried about people finding out about my dark, overdramatic past. Seems like we all found something much bigger to replace that secret part of our personalities." He folded his arms, looking away. "I really don't want to give this up, though…"

Shinka shook her head. "Me neither." And from somewhere pressed into Shinka's chest: "Me neither too," Sanae said, muffled.

Rikka walked unsteadily forward, reaching out for Yuuta's hand. She smiled as she felt his fingers slip around hers. "That makes four of us," she said, staring up at Yuuta, face dead serious. The girl pursed her lips, thinking on what to say. "Will the Priestess understand, though? She never understood us before."

Yuuta kissed Rikka on the forehead, the girl leaning into him as she felt his lips touch her skin. "She understands more than she lets on, Rikka. She's… well, she's scary, but I think she wants the best for us. And for you, especially. Which means she thinks the same as the rest of us in that regard."

Shinka nodded. "I think Yuuta's right. I think we can at least try to talk to her about this. She'll either be reasonable, or at least we tried to come up with a compromise that doesn't involve her eating our faces."

There was a pause in the conversation as the mental image of Touko eating faces came and went. Nibutani patted Sanae on the shoulder, gently pulling the smaller girl away. "Are you OK, Sanae?"

"Think so," Sanae grinned weakly. "Thanks, Shinka. You always make me feel better." Dekomori looked across at the others, uncertain. "So… what do we do now?"

Rikka rubbed her eyes, squeezing Yuuta's hand as she turned to look at her other partners. "I think we should finish finalizing our contract," she said, hesitantly.

Shinka looked away; she was very conscious of the weight of the newly-placed ring on her finger. "Your sister finds out we're sneaking around with each other and you're thinking about your dumb contract thing at a time like this—"

Rikka cut her off, voice completely even. "I meant every promise I made to you, Shinka Nibutani," she said, flaring a hand out at her side for emphasis. Shinka shivered as she saw a fierce look arrive in Rikka's eyes, the same one she'd been met with a few moments ago in the centre of the circle. "I know you meant everything you said as well," Rikka continued. "This contract binds our wills and convictions with each other. It will give all of us the power and confidence we need to deal with the Priestess. You know this to be true."

Shinka bit her lip and looked down at the smudged pentagram on her hand, topped with the small silver ring around her finger. "Yeah… you're right…" She balled her fist, steeling herself. "You're right," she repeated more confidently.

"I wish you'd be more honest with yourself, Summer," Sanae said, the girl's expression brightening. "As my master says, invoking the next deathly part of our pact will help us. Or at the least, seal our fates together as Touka-san throws us into the Eighth Hell as one."

Shinka rolled her eyes, pivoting to look at Yuuta. "You're next, then, Yuuta. Step onto the magic circle with me."

Yuuta smiled and did as he was told. Sanae grinned. "Saving the best for last, I see."

"Shut up. You're lucky you don't have to do this with me else I'd "unleash our new power" by slugging you in the face."

Sanae raised an eyebrow, the familiar back-and-forth with her partner an easy routine to slip into. "How barbaric. I'd like to see you try."

Shinka raised a fist. "How 'bout I try now?"

Yuuta sighed and grabbed Shinka's hand, moving his elbow and twirling her around to face him. "Unclench your fist, Shinka," he said calmly.

Shinka once again felt a rush of nervous energy well up inside her as she felt his hand on her back, pressing her hips against hers. She unconsciously put her other hand on his shoulder and opened her palm onto his. They were posed like they were about to dance.

"I, Yuuta Togashi, give myself to you," he whispered gently to her. "Heart and soul. Body and mind. I love you, Shinka Nibutani. I'm yours if you are mine."

Shinka felt her face contort into a scowl even as a flushed heat entered her cheeks. "That's not even the same format as with Rikka, you romantic dork."

"Vows, Shinka," he said with a smile.

Shinka began muttering. "I, Shinka Nibutani, give myself to you. In light and dark. In pain and pleasure. I love you, Yuuta Togashi. You are mine and I am yours."

Rikka smiled as she watched the two of them kiss gently in the circle. "Not so dumb, is it?" she asked.

Yuuta grinned and twirled Shinka in a circle, tipping her over, the girl squealing joyfully as she was dropped down, Yuuta leaning forward over her. "You're taller, so doing that was a lot easier with you than with Rikka," he said, hand on her back, her head inches from the ground. Shinka rolled her eyes. "How darling. Now lift me back up and kiss me."

"Your lover's display of passion leaves me eager for ours," Sanae muttered to Rikka, clutching at the other girl's sleeve. Rikka beamed happily as Yuuta tipped Shinka back upright, her eyes bright. "He's taken very good care of me."

The next vows came in quick succession.

Yuuta's and Sanae's had her tackling him onto the floor with a hug, smudging the magic circle drawn in chalk. Sanae said her vows with Yuuta spread out on the circle, Sanae sitting atop him. When Sanae's promises were made, she grabbed his shoulders and rolled them over, putting Yuuta on top of her. Once Yuuta was done, they both sat up and kissed.

The boy smiled despite himself, covered in chalk dust. "Hold out your hand."

Sanae offered a cautious hand, eyes wide as Yuuta slipped the ring Rikka and he had bought for her. "This is proof you're mine, you know," Sanae grinned, after Yuuta pulled his hand away. She flashed her eyes at his. "Don't make me regret it, okay?"

Next came Rikka and Sanae's part of the contract. The two began a complex series of palm strikes at the other, deflecting the attacks and countering with a palm strike of their own. They said their vows as they exchanged blows, ending with both of them palm against palm. They pulled each other into a kiss as well.

Shinka watched this all unfold with a sceptical look. "You rehearsed this, didn't you?"

Yuuta smiled and nodded. "Well, Rikka and I had a vague plan. She wanted each one to be special. I have no idea how she and Sanae managed their fight choreography though."

Rikka broke off their kiss. "Just natural talent between two new contract partners," she muttered back towards the other two.

Shinka snorted. "Yeah, right."

There weren't many more words after that. The four of them sat around the circle, hands touching each other's, dumb smiles on their faces writ large, Touka forgotten for the moment.

"I guess it only made sense to do that here in the clubroom, where it all started," Yuuta said. Sanae put her head on his shoulder. "It is acceptable."

The four of them sat for a little longer, content merely to enjoy each other's presence. Sanae broke the silence, the hyperactive girl becoming fidgety. She looked at the others with a sly grin. "Would you like to consummate our new pact now?"

Yuuta playfully hit her shoulder. "Isn't that a little redundant, considering we've already done it way too many times before now?"

"You say too many. I say not enough," Sanae countered. Rikka made a sound of agreement.

"You guys have more stamina than I can take, okay?" Yuuta grumbled, unseriously. "I thought Rikka's libido was hard enough for me to satisfy already. Guess I didn't have much clue of what was coming."

Rikka giggled. "And you do it oh so well," she said, nuzzling his face.

Sanae crawled over the two of them and rested her head onto Shinka's chest. "I want to do it," she said with a pout. "Who cares if the Priestess knows about our infernal activities? She's not here."

Shinka coughed. "Yeah, as delightful as that sounds, _my love,_ it's getting along in the afternoon." She looked pointedly out of the window. "And probably we need to go find Rikka's phone. Maybe we should get out of here and do that first…"

Sanae pouted. "That sounds markedly less fun, though…"

"Well then, use your magic powers to find it quickly."

* * *

Rikka's phone was lying in the grass, and was recoverable after a little bit of searching and pinging it with others. Rikka was even surprised to see it still worked, though the display showing Touka's dozen ringbacks was less welcome.

"Seems like she's keen to talk," Shinka suggested, quietly.

"She should have finished work by now," Rikka suggested, mentally calculating the time-zone difference. "I don't think the Priestess will be asleep. If she even does sleep. Isn't it like... 4am for her?"

Yuuta moved towards the phone in Rikka's hand, staring at it. "Well, I guess since I dropped us all into this… I'll get us out of it..."

Rikka shook her head. "I'll speak to her."

"Are you sure?" Yuuta looked uncertain. "I mean-"

"I feel like I can do anything now that we made our contract, Yuuta," Rikka beamed. She scanned the faces of the others. "With the three of you… I could take on the Bureau itself. Here, pass me the phone. Just… just help me out if I get stuck…"

Rikka dialled the familiar number, listening to the tinny ring of a long-distance connection.

Touka's familiar laconic voice came up on the speaker as the four of them sat on the grass, surrounding Rikka for backup. "Togashi-san."

"Ah… it's Rikka," Rikka said. "Hello, Touka."

On the other end of the phone, Touka paused for a moment, choosing her words.. "... Hello, Rikka."

A beat passed. "You know, Rikka-"

"No," Rikka shook her head. "I need to speak first." She took a deep breath, receiving a determined nod from the others, Sanae's hand touching her knee for reassurance. Rikka nodded silently as Touka waited similarly for her to continue.

"I…" Rikka didn't quite know how to start. "I guess you know something's up."

"I had gathered, yes," Touka said. "I don't understand what it is, though. Your boyfriend there said that your group of friends was having trouble."

"N-Not quite," Rikka replied. "What he said was… well, we are still friends, but it's, it's different… somehow we might have done things that we shouldn't have. That we might just have allfalleninlovewitheachother-"

"I see," Touka said, cautiously. "I mean, no, I don't see. Is that another game, or…"

Rikka shook her head ferociously, before twigging that Touka needed words. "No. It's serious, Touka. Like, you-getting-married serious. I think, anyway. We all did a serious pledge to each other."

"So… are you happy?"

Rikka blinked. "... Yes? I mean, it's so hard to explain, but… I really love them. And... "

"Then that's fine, I think. Thank you for telling me, Rikka." Another silence came over the end of the phone.

Rikka let out a sniffly gasp. Touka being accepting had, somehow, not even crossed her mind. "Thank you, Touka," the girl managed, eventually.

"I never understood you properly, Rikka. Your mindset… how different our lives are, how much older I am than you. I couldn't be relatable to you like a sibling should, maybe. That's why I was glad you found some friends at your new school, and why I tried so hard to keep them in your life and working in your best interest. I don't understand what you've become with them… but judging by how hard they always seemed to go after you, perhaps I can't really be surprised."

Rikka felt a tear slip down her cheek. "So… you're not angry?"

"Confused as anything, and anxious about how you're even going to make that work going forward, but no, I'm not angry, Rikka. If anything I guess it's a relief to hear that I've got people more committed to looking after you since I can't be over there. Just let me know if things go bad, okay? I'm more than happy to whack the three of your friends back into line. "

Rikka felt three pairs of hands slip around hers and she squeezed back, not looking, eyes wet. "... Thank you, Touka. I'll tell you, I promise."

Unseen, Touka allowed herself a smile. "You came to my wedding, and you saw how happy I was. If being with them makes you or them one tenth as happy I'm glad for you. Though in retrospect, it was a clear mistake to throw you the bouquet."

Rikka smiled through weak tears. "I think the groundwork was laid long before that."

"Yeah, it sounds like it. It's a bit late here, Rikka, but you call me any time you need, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Touka." Rikka closed her eyes and closed the phone. She looked up at the others, nodding as she pulled her hands up to wipe her face and eyes clear from the emotion. She grinned weakly at the others once it was done, able to relax at last.

"One down…"

* * *

The afternoon was easy after that. Sanae had suggested, again, an immediate consummation on the magic circle. Shinka and Yuuta had ideas about that, and the girl had been quickly placated with the emollient promise that they would head back to Yuuta's place now that the day was closing and the four of them would be undisturbed there.

"Whilst I'm glad your sister turned out to only be a paper tiger," Yuuta remarked — Sanae holding his hand and swinging her arms in that typical jovial way she could so characteristically manage -"I can't say I'll be looking forward to the next time we meet. I can already feel the second-hand pain."

Rikka grinned at his imaginary wincing. "Touka told me to tell on you if you mess around. So I think somehow, I now tamed the Priestess to come under my control? That sounds weird to say, but maybe it's a victory of sorts. So be careful, Yuuta. I'm an agent by proxy."

"I'm certainly glad she's not threatening to fly over and ladle us into oblivion without due deference. Just be sure you don't tell her everything we get up to, okay?"

The blue-haired chuuni's face quickly turned pink. "I won't. I wouldn't even know where to start."

Sanae had some whispers in Rikka's ear after that, suggesting just exactly where she could start. After all, they'd be home in an hour, right?


End file.
